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APPLETONS' 

GUIDE TO MEXICO, 



INCLUDING A 



CHAPTER ON GUATEMALA, AND AN ENGLISH- 
MEXICAN VOCABULARY. 



ALFRED R> CONKLING, LL. B., Ph. B., 

MEMBER OF THE NEW TORS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, AND FOKMEELT UNITED STATES 

GEOLOGIST. 



WITH A RAILWAY MAP AA'D ILLUSTRATIONS. 



THIRD EDITION, REVISED. 



NEW YORK : 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 

1, 3, AND 5 BON^D STREET. 
1886. 






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D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 

1883. 






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PRE FA O E. 



Since tlie year 1880, a large amount of capital has 
been invested in Mexico by citizens of the United States. 
Within that period an unprecedented number of the Eng- 
lish-speaking races have visited that country either as 
tourists, or as explorers with a view to an actual settle- 
ment and a permanent residence. 

During a professional visit to the Mexican Repubhc, 
in the winter and spring of this year, the author experi- 
enced from 'day to day, and frequently from hour to hour, 
the want of a compendious guide-book. While many 
volumes of history and of general observation and travel 
relating to Mexico have, from time to time, been pub- 
lished, no book of this description is known to exist. 

Believing that our sister Republic will in futm*e, to a 
far greater extent than ever before, be the resort of the 
capitalist, the speculator, the artist, the archaeologist, the 
valetudinarian, and the pleasure-seeker, as well as of the 
intelligent and enterprising man of business, the author 
has endeavored to render each and all an acceptable ser- 
vice by the preparation of this manual. It has been his 



\y PREFACE. 

constant aim to nse the shortest words, and to adopt the 
most compact and abbreviated forms of expression con- 
sistent with perspicuity. In the spelling of both proper 
names and places he has, for the most part, followed the 
orthography of the best maps and of the standard works 
on Mexico, except where changes have been introduced 
by common usage. For instance, the name of President 
Santa Aima, although correctly spelled with a single let- 
ter " /i," has so long been spelled with a double " w," that 
the change may be said to be sanctioned by universal 
usage. 

The vocabulary of Spanish words, together with the 
collection of colloquial phrases, has been made as complete 
as the limited space devoted to it would permit. At 
present every new-comer, unless a Spaniard or a Spanish 
scholar, is obhged to purchase a dictionary immediately 
on his arrival in the country. It is believed that this 
want will be in a great measure suppKed by this volume. 

One half of this work is in the form of a compendium 
of general information for the use of tourists as well as of 
settlers. In the itinerary, all names of places are italicized 
for the convenience of the reader. 

It is to be borne in mind that Mexico is at present in 
a transition state. The beard may be said to have grown 
dm'ing the shaving. It has accordingly been found neces- 
sary to revise the proof-sheets of Sections lY and Y up 
to the moment of going to press. 

The author desires to express his great obligation to 
General U. S. Grant ; General Manuel Gonzalez, the 



PREFACE. V 

President of Mexico ; Senores Matias and Cayetano Eo- 
mero, of the Mexican Legation at Washington ; Don Igna- 
cio Mariscal, ex-Secretaiy of Foreign Affairs of the Mexi- 
can Republic ; Hon. P. H. Morgan, United States Min- 
ister at Mexico ; Hon. D. H. Strother, Consul-General of 
the United States ; Hon. W. P. Sutton and Hon. A. Wil- 
lard, Consuls at Matamoros and Guayinas respectively ; 
Mr. Simon Stevens; Thomas Mckerson, Esq., Rudolph 
Fink, Esq., and D. B. Eobinson, Esq., of the Mexican 
Central Railway Company ; and to Messrs. Spackman, 
Gardner, and l^evin, of the Mexican IS^ational Railway 
Company, for much valuable information and assistance 
in the preparation of these pages. 

New York, November 1, 1S83. 



PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 



In preparing a third edition, the author desires to 
state that the book has been carefully revised, and several 
pages of new matter have been inserted. 

The Mexican Central Railway was completed while 
the second edition was being printed. This road has al- 
ready done much to develop the central part of the Re- 
public. American products are now sold in large quanti- 
ties to Mexico, and the demand is steadily growing. The 
value of declared exports less coin and bullion from Paso 
del Norte (the Mexican Central terminus) to the United 
States has increased from $52,117.68 in 1883 to $195,- 
678,30 in 1884. The trade in foreign bonded goods has 
become extensive ; and, with the advantages of quick 
transportation by rail, a trade in tropical fruits has begun. 

There still remains a gap of some 330 miles on the 
main line of the Mexican National Railway. The com- 
pletion of this trunk line is purely a matter of finance, 
for the intervening space between the northern and 
southern termini presents no obstacles to the construc- 
tion of a railway; and the engineers report that the 



PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. vii 

work of construction can easily be done in nine months. 
The work on the branch lines from Matamoros toward 
Monterey^ and from Morelia to Manzanillo, is slowly pro- 
gressing. 

Mexico has not, as reported in the American press, 
repudiated its subsidy contracts with the railroad com- 
panies of the Republic. It has merely, owing to lack 
of funds, temporarily suspended the subventions. From 
causes not necessary to discuss here, the country is pass- 
ing through a year of great financial depression. The 
present (Diaz) Administration is confidently expected 
to do much for the development of Mexican interests. 
Customs regulations will be modified, and the tariff and 
internal revenue laws will be thoroughly revised. It is 
believed that an era of great commercial activity and 
prosperity is about to dawn upon our sister republic. 

On May 29, 1885, the concession for building the 
Mexican Southern Railroad was forfeited, for non-com- 
pliance with the stipulations of the contract. The work 
on the other American railways in Northern Mexico is 
rapidly advancing. 

The author renews his expression of thanks to Senor 
Romero, and to the various ofiicials of the American 
railways, for great assistance in the preparation of this 
edition. 

New York, October 15, 1885. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART FIR 

CHAPTER 

I. — Traveling in Mexico . 

Hints , 

When to Travel . 

How to Travel 

An Agricultural Trip 

A Mining Trip 

The Cost of Travel 

Railroads 

Steamships 

Diligences 

Horse-cars 

Horses and Mules 

Express , 
II. — History . 
III. — Geography 

Situation 

Boundaries 

Area . 
Topography . 

Mountains 

Rivers 

Lakes . 

Islands 

Climate 

Political Divisions 
IV. — Literature 
v.— Ruins . 

Mayapan 

Uxmal . . 



ST. 



PAGE 

1 

1-2 

3-4 

4-5 

6 

6 

6 

1-12 

12-13 

13-14 

14-15 

15 

15-16 

16-24 

25-38 

25 

25 

25 

25-30 

25-28 

29 

29-30 

30 

30-31 

32-33 

33 

34-49 

36 

36-38 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Palenque . 
Mitla . 
The Pyramids 
Cholula 

San Juan Teotihuacan 
Papantla 
Northern Mexico 
VI. — Hotels and Restaurant, 
VII. — Passport 
VIII. — Custom-Houses 
IX. — Commerce 
X. — Army and Navy . 
XI. — Duties . 
XII.— Taxes 
XIII. — Finance 
XIV.— Public Debt 
XV. — Money — Coins 
XVI.— Mints . . 
XVII.— Post-Office and Letters 
XVIII.— Telegraphs 
XIX. — Census 
XX. — Population 
XXI. — Architecture . 
XXII. — ^Painting . 
XXIII. — Immigration . 
XXIV.— Mines 
XXV. — Mineral Springs 
XXVI.— Geology . 
XXVII.— Zo51ogy 
XXVIII. --Botany , 
XXIX.^Agrieulture 
XXX.-— Maps and Surveys 
XXXI.— Stock,Raising . 
XXXII. — Weights and Measures 
XXXIII.— Labor and Wages 
XXXIV.— Wines and Liquors 
XXXV.— Cigars and Tobacco 
XXXVI. — Manufactures 
XXXVIL— Native Productions 
XXXVIII,— Jewelry . 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



XI 



CHAPTER 


PAOB 


XXXIX.— Theatres 


122 


XL. — Music .... 


122-124 


XLI. — Dances 


124 


XLII.— Festivals .... 


124-125 


XLIIL— Bull-fights 


. 125-126 


XLIV.— Cock-fights 


126-12'7 


XLV. — Costumes 


. 127-129 


XL VI.— Lotteries .... 


129 


XLVII.— Stores . 


. 129-130 


XLYIII. — Pawnbroker-Shops 


130-131 


XLIX.— The Church . 


. 131-134 


L. — Jurisprudence 


134-137 


LI. — Education 


. 137-139 


LII. — Newspapers 


139-140 


LIII. — Miscellaneous . 


. 140-143 


LIV. — What Mexico needs 


143-146 



PART SECOND. 

SECTION PAGE 

I. — How to reach Mexico ..... 147-159 

How to reach the Country .... 147 

Route I. — New York to Vera Cruz by Steamer . . 147-152 

Vera Cruz .... 152-154 

Jalapa ..... 154-155 

Route II. — New York to New Orleans by Rail, thence by 

Steamer to Vera Cruz . . 156-158 

Matamoros, Tampico, Tuxpan . . 157 

Route III.— New York to Laredo or El Paso, Texas, by Rail 158-159 

II. — The Mexican Railway Company from Vera Cruz to Mexico . 160-174 

From Vera Cruz to Orizaba .... 160-163 

Orizaba ....... 163-165 

From Orizaba to Esperanza .... 165-169 

From Esperanza to Puebla via Apizaco . . . 169-170 

Puebla. ...... 171-173 

From Puebla to the City of Mexico . . • 173-174 

III.— The City of Mexico and Environs . . . . 175-201 

Hotels, Restaurants, Theatres, Carriages, Banks, Soci- 
eties, etc., etc. ..... 175-176 

History of Tenochtitlan .... 176-179 



Xll 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



SECTION PAGE 

Places of Interest . . . . , . 182-194 

Excursions around the Capital . . . 196-201 

San Juan Teotiiiuacan ..... 196 

Pachuca ...... 196-19'? 

Cuernavaca ...... 199-200 

IV. — The Mexican National Railway .... 202-253 

Eoute I. — From the City of Mexico to Manzanillo . . 202-236 

Mexico to Toluca .... 202-205 

Toluca ..... 205-206 

Toluca to Maravatio . . . 206-209 

Maravatio to Morelia . . . . 210-211 

Acambaro. . . . . 210 

Morelia ..... 211-215 

Morelia to Patzcuaro and thence to Man- 
zanillo .... 215-220 

Patzcuaro via Ario to JoruUo . . 220-236 

Acapulco ..... 236 

Koute II. — From the City of Mexico to Laredo and Corpus 

Christi ..... 23V-253 

Mexico to Celaya .... 237 

Celaya to San Luis Potosi . . . 237 

San Luis Potosi .... 237-240 

San Luis Potosi to Saltillo . . . 240-245 

Saltillo ..... 243 

Saltillo to Monterey .... 246-247 

Monterey ..... 248-249 

Monterey to Laredo .... 249-252 

New Laredo .... 252 

Laredo ..... 252-253 

Laredo to Corpus Christi . . . 253 

V. — The Mexican Central Railway .... 254-289 

Route I. — From the City of Mexico to Zacatecas . 254-280 

Mexico to Queretaro .... 254-260 

The Canal of Huehuetoca . . 255-258 

Queretaro ..... 260-263 

Queretaro to Guanajuato . . . 263-269 

Silao ..... 264 

Guanajuato .... 265-269 

Guanajuato to Lagos .... 269-290 

Lagos to Guadalajara and San Bias . 270-273 



TABLE OF CONTENTS, 



xui 



SECIION 

Lagos to Zacatecas 
Aguascalientes 
La Quemada 
Zacatecas 
Durango . 
Zacatecas to San Luis Potosi 
Route II. — El Paso to Chihuahua 
Chihuahua 
Chihuahua to Jimenez 
Route III. — Jimenez to Zacatecas 
VI. — The International and Interoccanic Pailway 
VII. — The Mexican Southern Railroad 
Northern Division 
Southern Division . 
Oaxaca and Mitla 
VIII.— The Morelos Railway . 
Mexico to Cuautla 
Amecameca and Popocatepetl 
Cuautla to Acapulco 
IX. — The Tehuantepec Railroad 
X. — The Sonora Railway 

XL — The American and Mexican Pacific Railway 
XII. — The New York, Texas, and Mexican Railroad 
XIII. — The Mexican International Railroad 
XIV. — The Sinaloa and Durango Railroad 
XV.— Table of Distances 
XVI. — Guatemala .... 

Geography .... 
Miscellaneous 

Route I. — Tonala, Mexico, to San Jose de Guatemala 
Route II. — San Jose to New Guatemala 
Guatemala 
Old Guatemala 
Appendix ..... 

Language .... 
Vocabulary , _ , , 



PAGn 
273-276 

273 

274 
276-278 

279 

280 
280-284 
284-285 
285-286 
286-289 

290 
291-297 
291-293 
293-297 

295 
298-304 
298-303 
299-303 
303-304 
305-310 
309-315 
316-318 
319-322 

323 
324-325 

326 
327-343 
327-335 
335-338 

338 

339 
339-341 
342-343 
345-378 
345-358 
358-378 



ILLUSTRATIONS, 





PART FIRST. 


PAGE 


Scene iu Mexico . 




. 26 


Mexican Table-land . 




28 


Aztec Temple 




. 44 


Toltec Palace . 


. 


48 


The Cathedral of Mexico 


■ . 70 


Longitudinal View of Timbered Level 


80 


The Peak of Orizaba 




. 84 


The Axolotl . 




87 


Cochineal Insects on 


Branch of Cactus . 


.88 


Indigo Plant (Anil) . 


. 


90 


Brazil-Wood, Leaves 


Flower, and Fruit . 


. 91 


The Vanilla Plant . 




92 


India-Rubber Plant {Hulc) 


. 93 


The Coffee Plant 




96 


Cocoanut Palm . 


. 


. 98 


Mexican Porters 




109 


Pulque Tlachiquero 


PART SECOXD. 


. 113 



A Tropical Jungle . 

Jalapa .... 

A Mexican Canon . 

The Pineapple Plant 

Cut showing Zones of Vegetation 

The Nopal 

Popocatepetl 



150 
154 
159 
162 
167 
170 
172 



XVI 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Volcanoes of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl 

Plaza Mayor, Mexico 

Quetzalcoatl 

Feathered Serpent . 

Teoyaomiqui 

The Noche-triste Tree 

The Aqueduct and Fountain, Mexico 

Pyramids of San Juan Teotihuacan 

Silver-Mill, Pachuca 

Indian Hut in the Tierra Caliente 

City of Colima . 

Manzanillo Bay 

A Pack-Train . 

JoruUo 

Interior of a Modern Mexican House 

Yucca-Tree . 

Scene on the Northern Plateau 

Varieties of Cactus 

The Cut of Nochistongo 

Plaza de Armas, Guadalajara 

Making Tequila 

Piuins of Quemada 

Church and Plaza, El Paso 

Janos, Chihuahua 

Casas Grandes, Chihuahua 

Scene in Northern Mexico . 

Victoria and Tula Pass . 

Scene in Mexico 

Gathering Cochineal, Mexico 

Acapulco 

Tree-Fern .... 

A Scene on the Isthmus of Tehuantepcc 

Fronteras, Sonora 

Magdalena .... 

Arispe ..... 

Defile in the Guadalupe Pass, Sierra Madre 

The Pitahaya .... 

A Mexican Hacienda 

Scene on the Sonora River 

Map of Guatemala .... 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



xvii 



Native of Misco . . . . 

Volcan de Agua, Old Guatemala 

The Plaza, Quezaltenango . 

General View of the City of Quezaltenango 

The National Institute, Guatemala . 

The Government Building, Quezaltenango 

The National Theatre, Guatemala . 

The Cathedral, Guatemala 

The Plaza, Old Guatemala . 

The Penitentiary, Quezaltenango 



PAGE 

829 
. 331 

S32 
, 334. 

336 
. 33*7 

340 
. 341 

342 
. 343 



PART FIRST. 
GENERAL II^FORMATIOISr. 



Traveling in Mexico. 

HINTS. 

The reader will generally find railway fares, hotel 
charges, tariffs for hacks, etc., given in the body of the 
Guide-Book, but a few words may be of use at the outset. 

The cost of traveling by rail in Mexico is considerably 
higher than in the Northern and Eastern States of the 
American Eepublic. (For table of fares, see chapter on 
railroads. ) 

There are first, second, and third class cars on the rail- 
roads. At present (1885), traveling in Mexico is as safe as 
in the western part of the United States. There are no 
brigands on the stage-roads any longer, except in the States 
of Jalisco and Sinaloa. It is well, however, to go armed, 
and to keep your fire-arms in sight. Escorts of mounted 
guards called the Guardia Rural accompany the diligences. 
Train-robberies are thus far unknown. The traveler is ad- 
vised to take as little baggage as possible, as the railroads 
only allow 15 kilogrammes (33 pounds), and the diligences 
one arroha (25 pounds). The rates for extra baggage are 



2 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

very high. Wraps and hand-bags, carried into the passen- 
ger-cars, are, of course, free of charge. Passengers must 
purchase tickets before their baggage can be checked. 
They will receive a paper check with a number correspond- 
ing to that of a label pasted on the trunk or valise. Wells, 
Fargo & Co. have established express agencies in the Repub- 
lic, and there are baggage-express companies in Puebla and 
Mexico. In the large cities, coaches do not meet trains on 
arrival as in the United States, but horse-cars usually pass 
the doors of the hotels. Hacks are common, and can be 
hired to the hotel at an average price of four reales. 
Diligence-drivers and railroad-porters do not expect fees. 
Carry soap and matches with you. The natives make ex- 
cellent wax-matches called cerillos, which are sold at one 
centavo a box. As regards clothing, the tourist does not 
require as thick garments on the coast as upon the table- 
land. Woolen under-clothing should be worn all the year 
round on the tierra fria, and for three quarters of the year 
in the temperate zone. A Mexican blanket, or zarape, will 
be found very useful for the tourist, in addition to a cloak 
or overcoat. It can be put on the bed at night and will 
serve as a wrap in the diligences. A linen duster is of 
great service in the dry season. On first reaching Mexico, 
care should be taken to avoid exposure to the direct rays of 
the sun. Although sunstrokes are very rare, yet headache 
or fever comes from a strong sun, until the tourist has be- 
come acclimated. Solar hats should be worn in the sum- 
mer season. Keej) out of the night air at first. There is 
a great difference between the temperature in the sun and 
in the shade on the table-land. Tourists should accord- 
ingly be careful to avoid taking cold. The facilities for 
washing clothes in Mexican cities are very poor, and it is 
advisable to have several changes of linen, so as not to be 
detained in a place on account of being obliged to wait for 
one's clean garments. 



TRA VELING IN MEXICO. 



Wlien to travel. 



Owing to the configuration of the country, it is impor- 
tant that the tourist should select the projDer seasons for 
traveling in the different zones. 

The best time for visiting the tierra caliente, or hot 
land, south of latitude 25 degrees, is in the winter months. 
Northers blow from November to March, thus cooling the 
atmosiDhere ; and the vomito, or yellow fever, rarely breaks 
out during this period. Tourists should not visit Vera Cruz 
between June 1st and November 1st. 

The tierra templada, or temperate zone, and the table- 
land, may be frequented at any season, although the winter 
climate of the former is somewhat preferable. 

If the tourist wishes to avoid the clouds of dust tliat 
rise on the great plateau of Mexico, he should travel in the 
rainy season, i. e., June to September. However, as many 
parts of Mexico can only be reached by the diligence lines 
(excepting on horseback), it is proper to state that both the 
summer and winter months have their advantages and dis- 
advantages. In tlie rainy season the air is delightful, but 
the roads are in such a condition, owing to the very heavy 
showers, that they are often almost impassable. Sometimes 
the stage-coach will sink into the soft mud of the highway, 
so as to render it imjiossible to proceed. In such a case, 
the coachman will walk to the nearest liacienda and borrow 
a yoke of oxen to aid the mules in dragging the vehicle 
upon firm ground. These occurrences may cause a delay 
of several hours. In some places the road will be flooded 
for perhaps a quarter of a mile, and in crossing such a 
spot the diligence is occasionally imbedded in the yielding 
soil to an extent that makes further progress utterly im- 
practicable, and the passengers may be compelled to spend 
the night in the coach. This latter event occurs only in 
a mountamous region. In short, the traveler can not 



4 GENERAL INFORMATIOK 

always make sure connections by diligence in the summer 
season. 

Furthermore, the country is very sparsely settled. Vil- 
lages where the tourist can obtain food and lodging are few 
and far between. As the stage-coach oftentimes fails to 
reach the "regular" stopping-place of the route during 
the day's journey, these facts should be borne in mind ; 
and passengers are advised to carry provisions with them 
while traveling by diligence in the rainy season. 

On the other hand, the dust rising in clouds, which 
often envelop the vehicle so that the surrounding country 
is invisible for a few moments, constitutes the only draw- 
back to traveling by diligence in the dry season. The pas- 
sengers are certain to arrive on time, unless delayed by 
some accident. Invalids intending to winter in Mexico, 
should spend several days near the coast or in the tierra 
templada, before exposing themselves to the rarefied atmos- 
phere of the table-land. 

Hoiv to travel. 

Unless the tourist is familiar with Spanish, he is strong- 
ly advised not to travel alone in Mexico. Large parties 
are not recommended, owing to the small number of bed- 
rooms in the hotels, and the limited caj)acity of the dili- 
gences. As a rule, the latter are run only three times a 
week, and the seats are frequently engaged for days in 
advance. J^either have the companies more vehicles to 
" put on " when the regular coach is filled with passen- 
gers. Occasionally the stranger will be obliged to spend 
two or three days in some uninteresting town while wait- 
ing for transportation. 

As yet there are no jorofessional couriers, but they will 
doubtless make their appearance before long. 

In visiting the mining districts lying remote from cities, 
and in ascending the snow-clad mountains, a mozo, or ser- 



TRA VELINQ IN MEXICO. 5 

vant, should accompany the tourist. He will make himself 
generally useful, and his wages should not exceed one dol- 
lar a day. 

The following lists of short trips in Mexico are so ar- 
ranged as to allow the traveler to see as much as possible in 
a given space of time : 

Route I. 

Vera Cruz to Cordoba \ day. 

In Cordoba 1 do. 

To Orizaba and remain tlicre 1 do. 

To ruebla ^ do. 

In Puebla IJ do. 

To Mexico City ^ do 

In Mexico 4 days, 

Keturn to Vera Cruz 1 day. 

Total 10 days. 

Route II. 

Vera Cruz to Puebla 1 day. 

In Puebla 1 do. 

To Mexico City i do. 

In Mexico City 1^ do. 

Return to Vera Cruz 1 do. 

Total 5 days. 

Route III. 

First part same as Route II 5 days. 

Mexico to Maravatio 1 day. 

Maravatio to Celaya 1 do. 

Celaya to Queretaro 1 do. 

Queretaro to Mexico 1 do. 

Total 9 days. 

Route IV. 

Same as Route III, with the addition of 2 days, from 

Celaya to the mines of Guanajuato and return. . 11 days. 



6 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

An "Agricultural" Trii^. 

Supposing the traveler to Tbe in the national capital, a 
visit should be made to Queretaro and Lagos by rail ; then 
to Guadalajara by diligence ; thence to Uruapan by dili- 
gence and horseback ; thence to Patzcuaro by horseback, 
and diligence to Morelia ; return to Mexico by rail via Mara- 
vatio and Toluca. 

A " Mming " Trip. 

Starting from the City of Mexico, let the tourist make 
an excursion to the town of Pachuca by rail and tramway, 
and then return to the capital. Then go by rail to Guana- 
juato and Zacatecas ; thence by diligence to Fresnillo, Som- 
brerete, or Durango. One can then reach the Mexican Cen- 
tral Kailway at the nearest j^oint, and visit Chihuahua, or 
return to the southern part of the Re|)ublic. The mining 
towns just mentioned are the most accessible, although 
by no means the only places worthy of the attention of the 
scientific traveler. 

The Cost of Travel. 

If the tourist intends to move about a great deal, he 
will have to spend at least forty dollars a week. If, on 
the other hand, he wishes to linger in the cities and stay at 
the best hotels, twenty dollars a week will cover the cost of 
living outside of the capital. 

One month's trip from New York to Mexico and return, 
by steamer, will cost about $225. The same tour via New 
Orleans by rail, thence to Vera Cruz and return by steamer, 
will cost about $300. The expense of a journey from JSTew 
York to Laredo, Texas, by rail, thence by rail to Saltillo, 
by stage-coach to Queretaro, and rail to the City of Mexico, 
will be about $175, including sleeping-car fares, meals, and 
iodgmg at the diligence taverns. 



TEA VELINQ IN MEXICO, 



KAILROADS. 



The great desideratum in Mexico has always been cheap 
and rapid transportation. For many years communication 
between the various towns could only be had by means of 
carts and on horseback. At length a system of diligences 
was established, which of course was only adapted to carry- 
ing passengers. The first line of railroad — that of the Mexi- 
can Eailway Company, connecting the city of Vera Cruz 
with the national capital — was begun in 1837. On Sep- 
tember 16, 1869, the branch of this road from Mexico to 
Puebla, a distance of 115f miles, was opened with great 
pomp and ceremony. Trains commenced running on the 
division between Orizaba and Vera Cruz on September 5, 
1872, and the entire route was completed on January 17, 
1873. 

The Mexican Government, in September, 1880, granted 
charters to the Mexican Central Eailway Company and to 
the Mexican National Construction Comj^any, and in June, 
1881, to the International and Interoceanic Eailway Com- 
pany. These corporations are the three great American 
trunk-lines of Mexico. In May, 1881, a concession was 
obtained by General U. S. Grant for a road to be known 
as the Mexican Southern Eailroad. 

The charters generally run for a term of ninety-nine 
years, at the end of which the roads revert to the Govern- 
ment. If the latter decides to sell or lease the lines, the 
companies are to be entitled to the preference. 

The Government, since 1867, has issued charters to the 
several States, and to various individuals, for the construc- 
tion of other railroads in the interior of the country. 
But none of these roads is of sufficient importance to merit 
an extended notice here, and many of the grantees have 
forfeited their charters for failure to complete their lines 
within the specified time. 



8 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

The Liberal party in Mexico, who have recently come 
into power, believe that the development of the immense 
mineral and agricultural resources of the country can only 
be accomplished by the construction of railroads. Accord- 
ingly, having but little public land to grant for this pur- 
pose, the Government pays subsidies,* with the object of 
encouraging both natives and foreigners to build railways. 
These subventions, as they are called, vary from $6,500 to 
19,500 per kilometre, and are supposed to amount to about 
one third of the cost of the roads. They now reach a total 
of about 17,000,000 annually. 

A subsidy of 1560,000 a year is given to the Mexican 
Eailway, which is the only completed line in the Ee- 
public. It must not be assumed, however, that these sub- 
ventions are paid in money. Eevenue bonds are issued 
without interest, and an amount, varying from 4 to 6 per 
cent of the customs duties, is set aside for their redemp- 
tion. 

The American trunk-lines extend from the Eio Grande 
to the City of Mexico. A branch of one of them, i. e., the 
Mexican Central Eailroad, is being built across the country 
from the Gulf to the Pacific Ocean. Another branch, that 
of the Mexican National Eailway, is already finished for 
nearly one half of the distance between the capital and 
Manzanillo, the terminus of this division. This company 
has lately consolidated all its concessions under the law of 
January 11, 1883. 

The Morelos Eailway is expected to be continued to 
Acapulco, and the Tehuantepec Eailroad will soon reach 
the Pacific coast. (See Sections YIII and IX.) 

Hence, it will be seen that in the course of a few years 
three lines of railway will connect the capital with the 
United States, and four roads will traverse the Eepublic 

* The total amount of railroad subsidies £;ranted by the Mexican Gov- 
ernment is given in round numbers at $126,000,000. 



TEA VELING IN MEXICO. 9 

from east to west, thus establishing communication be- 
tween the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Ocean. Other 
lines are progressing from Altata to Durango, from Picdras 
Negras toward Durango, and from Matamoros to Monterey. 

None of the trains on the various railroads, as a rule, 
carry escorts or guards, except the Mexican Eailway. A 
special car is provided on the latter for a squad of Fed- 
eral soldiers. Occasionally the Mexican National Eailway 
Company will send several guards on the pay-car, or on 
a train that transports an enormous amount of coin and 
bullion. 

The plan of building railways in Mexico has been to 
work from each end toward a middle point. This method 
proved very expensive to the Mexican road, but it is found 
expedient in the construction of the American trunk-lines. 
The latter rarely pass through the cities and towns along 
the route, as the inhabitants prefer to keep the railroad- 
track at a considerable distance. At Monterey the station 
is one and a half miles from the city. 

With the exception of the Mexican National Eailway 
and the Morelos Eailway (the latter being owned by Mexi- 
cans), the standard gauge has been adopted on the j^rinci- 
pal lines of the country. These two roads are constructed 
of the narrow gauge i^via angosta), which is thought to 
be well adapted to the wants of the region traversed by 
them. 

Mexico derives two great benefits from the construction 
of railroads — viz., in giving employment to a great many 
people, it produces a peaceful effect on them ; and, in case 
of a revolution, the Government can send troops to the seat 
of war within a few hours. 

The following table of charges for the transportation of 
freight and passengers on the trunk-lines will be found 
useful : 



10 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



FREIGHT PER TON FOR EACH KILOMETRE. 






E0A.B3. 


First 

class. 


Second 

class. 


Third 

class. 




Cents. 

6 

4 
10 
10 

9 


Cents. 
4 
3 

n 


Cents. 

2i 
2 






5 




5 




61- 







PASSENGER RATES PER KILOMETRE. 



EOADS. 



Mexican Central Eailroad 

Mexican National Railway 

International and Interoceanic Railway 

Mexican Southern Railroad 

Mexican Railway 

Morelos Railway 



First 


Second 


class. 


class. 


Cents. 


Cents. 


3 


2 


2^ 


2 


7 


5 


7 


5 


nh 


Uh 


li 


1 



Third 

class. 



Cents. 

H 
1 

3 
3 

■■■100 

i 



Local fares are generally higher. As before stated, 15 
kilogrammes (33 pounds) of baggage are allowed to each 
passenger. The rates for extra baggage are exorbitant. 

Coal and fire-wood are very dear and scarce along the 
lines of the principal railroads. The deposits of the former 
that occur in Mexico are generally found at a great distance 
from the railways, while the timber growing in the adjoin- 
ing regions is being rapidly cut down to be used for sleepers. 
The Mexican Railway Company imports compressed-coal 
cakes from England, as fuel for its engines. 

The rolling stock and permanent way of the trunk-lines 
may be concisely described as follows : 

The locomotives and cars of the Mexican Central Eail- 

* The Mexican Southern Railroad Company is allowed to charge \ cent 
more for coal per ton than the International Railroad. 
\ Railroad-iron costs $55 a ton for 263 miles. 



TEA VELING IN MEXICO. 11 

road are of American manufacture. There are very few 
bridges and tunnels along the line. The maximum grade 
is three feet per hundred. The higher officials, conduc- 
tors, and engineers are mostly Americans, while natives 
are employed as ticket-agents, baggage-masters, and brake- 
men. 

The company owns a telegraph line. 

The Mexican National Railway belongs, as above stated, 
to the narrow-gauge system. The locomotives and cars are 
made in the United States. The southern division has sev- 
eral tunnels and many bridges, some of which are of con- 
siderable dimensions, while the main line, north of Celaya, 
will traverse a flat table-land, without any heavy grades or 
bridges, except in the vicinity of Saltillo. The company 
has erected a bridge across the Rio Grande, which is de- 
scribed in Section IV. The heaviest grade amounts to 
three and four fifths feet per hundred, and is found near 
the summit of the Toluca division. A telegraph line has 
been built by the company, but the Government reserves 
the right to put up a wire for its own use on the poles. 

Both of the American companies Just mentioned have 
time-tables printed in English and Spanish, and their ticket- 
agents can generally speak both languages. 

The Mexican Railway Company has imported most of 
its rolling-stock from England. The first-class carriages 
are built in the English style, with compartments, while 
the second and third class cars are on the American plan. 
The engineers are sent out from England and have charge 
of the train, whereas the conductors are merely ticket-col- 
lectors. French or English, besides Spanish, is spoken by 
the latter. There are many bridges and tunnels along the 
line, the former being made of iron resting on stone piers. 
The grades are very heavy between the stations of La Sole- 
dad and Esperanza, the maximum being five feet in a hun- 
dred. Owing to the great engineering difficulties, and to 



12 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

the unsettled condition of the country during the period 
of construction, the main line cost $30,000,000. 

The company's telegraph is described in Section 11. 

No rolling-stock has yet been purchased by the Mexican 
Southern Eailroad, or by the International and Interoceanic 
Eailway. So little work on these two lines has been done 
that a description of the permanent way would be prema- 
ture. 

STEAMSHIPS. 

The majority of the steamships running to Mexico are 
owned and controlled by Americans. The Alexandre* line 
of steamers plies between New York and Vera Cruz, via 
Havana, and also between New Orleans and Vera Cruz. 
The Morgan line runs between New Orleans, Gralveston, 
and Vera Cruz. The Pacific Mail steamers touch at all 
the ports on the Pacific coast, beginning with Mazatlan. 
There are two lines of coasting steamers on the Pacific, 
which run as far north as Guaymas. One of them is owned 
by a Mexican, and the other belongs to an American. Small 
steamships sail from Matamoros (Bagdad) down the Grulf of 
Mexico, calling at Tampico, Tuxpan, Vera Cruz, Frontera, 
Campeche, Progreso, and intermediate |)orts. (For particu- 
lars as to time of sailing, fares, etc., see advertisements.) 

Some capitalists in Mexico have recently organized a 
company, and have ordered six iron steamers, each of four 
thousand tons burden, which are to be run between Eng- 
land and Spain and Vera Cruz. Its title is the Mexican 
Transatlantic Steamship Company. One of the steamers 
is to be called the Estado de Tamaulipas, in compliment 
to President Gonzalez, and another the Estado de Oaxaca, 
in honor of General Diaz. The steamers will cost at least 

),000 each, and the engines will be of five thousand 



* This line receives a subsidy of $2,000 per round trip from the Mexi- 
can Government. 



12. 



Tliese ^^teanlers sail from Liverpool to Progreso and Vera 
Cruz, nia Havre, the kSpanish ports (Santander, Corufia, or 
Cadiz), according as health conditions permit, and touch at 
Havana. The Tfouaiilipas, 0r^,i'(7c«, and if/<?.*"/co have been 
running monthly since September, 1884. 



TRAVELING IN MEXICO. 13 

horse-power. It is expected that some of the ships will be 
completed and begin running within a year. They are to 
be constructed by the builders of the well-known ocean- 
steamers Servia and Britannic, which run between New 
York and Liverpool, and are expected to have a speed of 
sixteen knots per hour. 

DILIGEN'CES. 

The diligence system, or diligencias generales, was estab- 
lished in Mexico about fifty years ago. The central office 
is in the capital, and coaches are run from Cuernavaca on 
the south, to Durango and San Luis Potosi on the north. 
Other lines connect the latter town with Monterey, and 
also bring Durango in communication with Chihuahua. 
The smaller diligences that are driven between the towns 
lying beyond the routes of the " general " system are called 
diligencias particulares. 

The coaches are built in Mexico, after the ''Concord" 
pattern. They soon wear out, owing to the rough pave- 
ments of the streets, and the bad condition of the roads. 
Each stage-coach has one and often two whippers besides 
the driver. The whipper will often descend from the box 
while the diligence is in motion, and run ahead, in order 
to strike the forward mules. When on the box he throws 
stones at the leaders. The coachmen generally drive in a 
very skillful manner, and are polite in their deportment to- 
ward the passengers. 

Eight mules are attached to each vehicle in the dry sea- 
son, and nine in the rainy season. They are arranged as 
follows : two wheelers and two leaders, with four animals 
abreast in between. Most of the diligences have accommo- 
dation for nine persons inside and three outside. The in- 
side is called el inferior, and the outside el pescanie. A 
few of these vehicles have broader seats, so as to make room 
for twelve passengers within. 



14 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

Travelers in tlie pescante should be on the lookout for 
the large lamps that are hung on wires across the streets, at 
a height barely sufficient to allow the diligence to clear them 
while passing under. 

On the long trips the diligences generally start at 4 A. m., 
but occasionally not till 5 and 6 a. m. About 80 miles are 
traveled daily, which occupies from twelve to fifteen hours, 
according to the condition of the roads. It should be re- 
marked, that not more than two or three diligence-roads in 
the whole country are kept in repair, and the shaking and 
jolting to which the tourist is subjected are exceedingly dis- 
agreeable. Experienced Mexican travelers are able to sleep 
in the diligence during the early morning, but this is sel- 
dom the case with the stranger. 

On the arrival at the terminus of the day's journey, a 
crowd of porters and vagrants surround the vehicle, and 
importune the passengers to allow them to carry their 
baggage. A fee of 65- cents {un medio) is sufficient for 
the transportation of a valise for a distance of two or three 
squares. 

Two dollars is the usual charge at the diligence taverns 
for supper, lodging, and breakfast. The price for lunch 
varies from 25 cents to 75 cents. Passenger fares range 
from 6 to 10 cents a mile. One arroha (25 pounds) of bag- 
gage is carried free, but the rates for additional weight are 
very high. Bundles of shawls and small boxes held in the 
hand are not charged for. 

Hacks may be hired for moderate distances, but posting 
is rare in the country. 

HOESE-CAKS. 

Tramways have been built in almost every city in Mex- 
ico. In many cases tracks have been laid to villages 10 and 

15 miles distant, and a few horse-car roads connect stations 
on the railways with towns 30, 40, and even 60 miles off. 



TRA VELING IN MEXICO. 15 

The longest tramway is from Vera Cniz to Jalapa, a dis- 
tance of 70 miles. In general the horse-car tracks are well 
laid out, and a locomotive and train of cars may run on 
them at some future time. It is said that engines will soon 
be iDut on the tramways from Vera Cruz to Jalapa, and 
from Puebla to Matamoros. There are both passenger and 
freight horse-cars in the Republic, the former being divided 
into first and second class. 

HOESES AND MULES. 

Excepting the road built by Cortes from Vera Cruz to 
the capital, all communication between the cities and towns 
of Mexico was for many years made on horseback. This 
mode of traveling is still common in the rural districts. 
Tourists occasionally make trips, with a few pack-animals 
to carry baggage and provisions, in the remote parts of 
the Republic. Regular pack-trains of mules and hurros, or 
donkeys, are run on the western coast. Horses are com- 
monly fed on straw and corn. A good animal may be pur- 
chased for $50, and one able to make a short journey, for 
$20. Mules can be bought for abont $30. If the tonrist 
intends making a trip on horseback for ten days or longer, 
we would recommend him to purchase a horse instead of 
hiring one. These animals are always in demand, and can 
be sold at a slight loss on the completion of the journey. 
The average price for a saddle-horse is $1 per diem. In the 
larger cities the charge will be a little more. 

Pedestrianism in Mexico is thus far unknown, except- 
ing in the ascents of the lofty volcanoes. 

EXPEESS. 

Wells., Fargo & Co. have established express agencies 
at the following places in the Republic : Mexico (city) ; 
Tula ; San Juan del Rio ; Queretaro ; Celaya ; Salamanca ; 
Irapuato ; Silao ; Guanajuato ; Leon ; Lagos ; Vera Cruz ; 



16 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

Chihuahua (city) ; and in the principal ports on the Pacific 
coast of Mexico. 

Messrs. Wells, Fargo & Co. also carry a large amount 
of mail matter from these ports to San Francisco and to 
New York. 



II. 
History. 

It would be foreign to the aim of this guide-book to 
give a complete history of Mexico from the earliest times 
to the present day. We will confine ourselves chiefly to 
the chronology of the country. 

The early history of Mexico is involved in great obscu- 
rity. The traditions of the aborigines are so fabulous as 
barely to deserve mention. 

Picture-writings, mostly on cloth made from the maguey 
fiber, afford the principal means of investigating the origin 
of the primitive races. Unfortunately, nearly all of these 
historical illusti-ations were burned by order of the Spanish 
bishop Zumarraga, at the time of the Conquest. A few of 
them remain in Mexico, principally in the museum at the 
capital, and several have found their way to the libraries of 
Europe. 

According to an old painting, on maguey cloth, in pos- 
session of a resident of Uruapan, in the State of Michoacan, 
this country was settled by Indians, who came out of an 
immense cave and traveled over the realm on the backs of 
turtles, founding cities and towns wherever they went. 

Very little is known of the ancient history of Mexico, 
but, according to the best authorities — 

The Toltecs appeared in 648 a. d. 

The Chichimecs appeared in 1170 A. d. 

The Nahualtecs appeared in 1178 a. d. 

The Acolhuans and Aztecs appeared in 1196 A. D. 



HISTORY. 17 

There is a strong similarity of languages among all of 
these races. The Aztecs, according to Prescott, reckoned 
their calendar from a date corresponding to 1091 a. d. 
They divided the year into eighteen months of twenty 
days each, with five days added. Some writers believe 
the Toltecs to be the mound-builders of North Amer- 
ica, but it is impossible to learn the names of their sov- 
ereigns in Mexico. The list of Chichimecan kings is as 
follows : 

Xolotl began to reign in the twelfth century. 

Nopaltzin began to reign in the thirteenth century. 

Tlotzin began to reign in the fourteenth century. 

Quinatzin began to reign in the fourteenth century. 

Tecotlalla began to reign in the fourteenth century. 

Ixtlilochitl began to reign in the year 1406. 

Nezahualcoyotl began to reign in the year 1426. 

Nezahualpilli began to reign in the year 1470. 

Cacamatzin began to reign in the year 1516. 

Cuicuitzcatzin began to reign in the year 1520. 

Coanacotzin began to reign in the year 1520. 

"We are not aware that any author has given a chrono- 
logical account of the other primitive races. 

The Aztecs called the country Analuiac; and the capital 
Tenoclititlan, which occupied the present site of the City 
of Mexico. They lived in barbaric pomp and Oriental 
splendor. Their kings and princes wore the most gorgeous 
dresses and costly jewels. (Their palaces and temples are 
described in the chapter on ruins.) 

The reign of the Montezumas began about the year 
1460. At the time of the arrival of the Spaniards, Monte- 
zuma II was on the throne. Authentic Mexican history 
really dates from the year 1517, when the Spanish naviga- 
tors began to explore the New World. The dates of the 
principal events during the domination of the Spaniards 
are as follows : 



18 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

Feb. 28, 1517. Cordova discovered Yucatan, landing at Cape Catoche. 

May 3, 1518. Grijalva landed on the Isle of Cozumel, and called Yucatan 
" New Spain." 

June 19, 1518. Grijalva landed at the mouth of the Eio Tabasco, and, sail- 
ing up the Gulf coast, reached the Rio Panuco, afterward 
returning to Cuba. He was the first Spanish navigator 
who set foot on Mexican soil, and opened intercourse 
with the Aztecs. 

April 21, 1519. Cortes landed at Vera Cruz, and soon marched toward the 
City of Mexico, building a wagon-road thither. 

Nov. 8, 1519. The Spaniards enter the ancient capital. 

June 30, 1520. Death of Montezuma. 

July 1, 1520. The Spaniards evacuate the capital — noche iriste. 

July 8, 1520. The battle of Otumba. 

May 30, 1521. The siege of the City of Mexico begins. 

Aug. 13, 1521. Surrender of the capital to Cortes. 

1528, First audienda inaugurated with Nuiio de Guzman, Presi- 
dent. 
1535. Mint founded in Mexico. 
1535. Rule of the viceroys began. 

There were sixty-four viceroys in two hundred and 
eighty-six years, i. e., up to 1821. All of them were Eu- 
ropeans except one, Juan de Acuiia (1722-'34), who was 
horn in Peru. They were endowed with royal prerogatives. 
During the vice-kingdom, Mexico was treated by Spain in 
the same manner as the English governed the United States 
before the American Revolution. In other words, there 
were great restrictions on commerce and agriculture. For- 
eign ships were not allowed to enter the ports. Learning 
was discouraged. The first and most prominent viceroy 
was Ai5"TO]srio de MBiTDOZA (1535-'50). 

Many reforms and discoveries were made during his 
administration. Next to him, Pacheco (l?89-'94) became 
most famous. 

Some of the other viceroys were — Velasco, Alamanza, 
Montesclaros, Salinas (who began the canal of Huehuetoca, 
in 1607), Villena, Guelves, Ceralvo, Monclova, De Croix, 



HISTORY. 19 

Monterey, Iturrigaray, Bucareli, and Juau O'Donoju, who 
was the last one. 

1536. Cortes discovered Lower California. 

Dee. 2, 1534. Cortes died in Spain. 

1810. llidalgo and Morelos, two curates, declare against tlie Span- 
ish domination. A revolution follows, the army of the 
former is defeated, and — 

July 31, 1811, Hidalgo is executed in Chihuahua. The war of independ- 
ence lasted about ten years. The principal patriots 
were Allende, Abasolo, and Aldama, besides Hidalgo and 
Morelos. States have been named after the last two 
heroes, and towns bear the names of the others. 

Aug. 23, 1821. Mexico became independent by the treaty of Aquala. 

1821. Agustin Iturbide, President of a provisional Junta; Mexi- 
co formed into an empire ; the crown declined by Spain. 

May 19, 1822. Iturbide proclaimed Emperor. 

Dec. 2, 1822. The Republic proclaimed at Vera Cruz. 

Mar. 26, 1823. Iturbide compelled to abdicate. 
1823. Provisional government. 

July 19, 1824. Iturbide went to England; returns and endeavors to recover 
his dignity, but is shot near Tampico. 

Oct. 4, 1824. First Constitution established, which is similar to that of the 
United States of America. The President must be native- 
born, and holds office for a term of four years. The 
President, national delegates, governors of the several 
States, and their deputies, are elected by the people. The 
power of the Mexican Government consists of the execu- 
tive, legislative, and judiciary. 

April, 1825. Commercial treaty with Great Britain. 
1825. Guadalupe Victoria, first President. 

1828. Gomez Pedraza becomes next President. 

1829. The United States recognizes the Mexican Republic. 
March, 1829. Expulsion of the Spaniards decreed. 

1829. Guerrero third President. 

Sept. 26, 1829. Spanish expedition against Mexico, surrendered. 
Dec. 23, 1829. Mexican revolution; President Guerrero deposed. 

1830. Anastasio Bustamante, fourth President. 
Feb. 14, 1831. Guerrero executed. 

1833. Pedraza President again for a few weeks. 
April 1, 1833. Santa Anna, fifth President. 



20 GENERAL mFORMATIOR. 

Dec. 28, 1836. Independence of Mexico recognized by Spain. 

April 19, ISS*/. Bustamante again President. 

Nov. 30, 1838. Declaration of war against France. 

March 9, 1839. This war terminated. 

Mar. & July, " Santa Anna, revolutionary provisional President. 

1839. Nicolas Bravo, President for one week ; sixth President. 
1841-44. Santa Anna, Nicolas Bravo, and Canalizo, dictators. 

1844. Santa Anna, President for third time ; seventh President. 

Sept. 20, 1844. Canalizo, President for second time; eighth President. 

June 4, 1845. War with the United States, growing out of the annexation 
of Texas. The question was a disputed boundary-line. 
Mexico claimed that the Nueces River was the frontier 
line, while the United States maintained that the Rio 
Grande was the proper boundary — hence the war. Gen- 
eral Zachary Taylor began the hostilities on the side of 
the latter. 

Dec, 1845. Herrera becomes ninth President. 

1846. The Mexicans defeated at Palo Alto, May 8th ; and subse- 

quently at Matamoros. 
Aug. 22, 1846. Santa Fe captured. 
Sept. 24, 1846. Battle of Monterey. 

1847. Paredes, tenth President. 

Feb. 22, 184*7. Battle of Buena Vista ; the Mexicans defeated by General 
Taylor, with great loss, after two days' fighting. Santa 
Anna commanded the former. 

March 9, 1847. Scott landed at Vera Cruz, and marched westward. 

April 18, 1847. The Americans, under General Scott, defeat the Mexicans 
under Santa Anna, making 6,000 prisoners. 

Sept. 14, 1847. Scott captured the City of Mexico. 

1848. Santa Anna, President fourth time; eleventh President. 
May 19, 1848. Treaty between Mexico and the United States ratified. 

1850. Herrera, President second time ; twelfth President. 

1852. Arista, President ; thirteenth President. 
Sept., 1852. Political convulsions. 

Jan. 6, 1853. President Arista resigns, and Santa Anna is invited to re- 
turn. 

1853. Santa Anna, President fifth time ; fourteenth President. 
Jan., 1855. He abdicates; Carrera elected President; fifteenth Presi- 
dent. 

Dec, 1855. Carrera also abdicates, and is succeeded by Alvarez. 
1855. Alvarez, President ; sixteenth President. 



HISTORY. 21 

Mar. 31, 1856. Property of the clergy sequestrated, 

Feb. 5, 1857. New Constitution. 

July, 1857. Comonfovt chosen President ; seventeenth President. 

Jan. 11, 1S58. Coup iV Hat ; Comonfort compelled to retire. 

Jan. 21-26, " General Zuloaga takes the government. 

Feb. 11, 1858. Benito Juarez declared constitutional President at Vera Cruz; 
eighteenth President. 

Aug. to Nov.," Civil war; several engagements. 

Jan. 6, 1859. General Miguel Miramon nominated President at Mexico by 
the Junta ; nineteenth President. 

Feb. 2, 1859. Zuloaga abdicates. 

Feb., 1859. In consequence of injury to British subjects, ships of war 
arc sent to Mexico. 

April 10, 1859. Miramon forces the lines of the Liberal generals, enters the 
capital, assumes his functions as governor, and governs 
without respect to the laws of life and property. 

July 13, 1859. Juarez confiscates the Church property. 

Dec. 21, 1859. Miramon and the clerical pai-ty defeat the Liberals under 
Colima. 

Mar. 5, 1860. He besieges Vera Cruz; bombards it; March 21st, com- 
pelled to raise the siege. 

May 1, 1860. General Zuloaga deposes Miramon, and assumes the presi- 
dency; twentieth President. 

May 9, 1860. Miramon arrests Zuloaga; May 10th, the diplomatic bodies 
suspend official relations with the former. 

Aug. 10, 1860. Miramon defeated by DegoUado. 

Oct., 1860. He governs Mexico with much tyranny ; the foreign minis- 
ters quit the City. 

Jan. 19, 1861. He is compelled to retire ; Juarez enters Mexico and is 
re-elected President ; twenty-first President. 

June 30, 1861. Juarez made dictator by the Congress. 

July 17, 1861. The Mexican Congress decides to suspend payments to for- 
eigners for two years — 

July 27, 1861. Which leads to the breaking off of diplomatic relations with 
England and France. 

Oct. 31, 1861. In consequence of many gross outrages on foreigners, the 
British, French, and Spanish Governments, after much 
vain negotiation,, claiming efficient protection of for- 
eigners, and the payment of arrears due to fund-holders, 
sign a convention engaging to combine in hostile opera- 
tions against Mexico. 



22 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

Dec. 8, 1861. Spanish troops land at Vera Cruz; December 17th, it sur- 
renders. 

Dec. 15, 1861. The Mexican Congress dissolves, after conferring full powers 
on the President. 

Jan. 7, 8, 1862. A British naval and French military expedition arrives. 

Jan., 1862. The Mexicans determine on resistance, and invest Vera 
Cruz ; their taxes are raised 25 per cent. 

Feb., 1862. Miramon arrives, but is sent back to Spain by the British 
admiral. 

Feb., 1862. Project of establishing a Mexican monarchy for the Arch- 
duke Maximilian of Austria disapproved of by the British 
and Spanish Governments. 

Feb. 19, 1862. Negotiation ensues between the Spaniards and Mexicans; 
convention between the commissaries of the allies and 
the Mexican General Doblado at Soledad. 

March, 1862. The Mexican General Marquez takes up arms against Juarez, 
and General Almonte joins the French General Lorencez. 
Juarez demands a compulsory loan, and puts Mexico in a 
state of siege. 

April 9, 1862. Conference between plenipotentiaries of the allies at Ori- 
zaba ; the English and Spaniards declare for peace, 
which is not agreed to by the French, who declare war 
against Juarez on April 16th. 

May, 1862. The Spanish and British forces retire ; the French Govern- 
ment sends re-enforcements to Lorencez. 

May 5, 1862. The French, induced by Marquez, advance into the interior; 
severely repulsed by General Zaragoza, at Fort Guada- 
lupe, near Puebla. 

June 13, 14, " The French defeat the Mexicans at Cerro del Borrego, near 
Orizaba. 

August, 1862. The Mexican Liberals said to be desirous of negotia- 
tion. 

Aug. 28, 1862. General Forey and 2,500 French soldiers land. 

Sept., 1862. Letter from the Emperor Napoleon to Lorencez, disclaiming 
any intention of imposing a government on Mexico, an- 
nounced. 

Sept. 8, 1862. Death of Zaragoza, a great loss to the Mexicans. 

Oct., 1862. General Forey deprives Almonte of the presidency at Vera 
Cruz, and appropriates the civil and military power to 
himself. 

Oct. 19, 1862. Ortega takes command of the Mexican army. 



HISTORY. 23 

Oct. 27, 1862. The Mexican Congress assembles, and protests against the 
French invasion. 

Jan. 13, 1863. The French evacuate Tampico. 

Feb, 24. 1863. Forey marches toward Mexico. 

Mar. 29, 1863. Siege of Puebla, bravely defended ; severe assault, March 
31st to April 3d. 

May 18, 1863. It is surrendered at discretion by Ortega. 

May 31, 1863. The Republican Government remove to San Luis Potosi. 

June 5, 1863. Mexico occupied by the French, under Bazaine. 

June 10, 1863. His army enters the capital. 

July 10, 1863. Assembly of notables at Mexico decide on the establish- 
ment of a limited hereditary monarchy, with a Roman 
Catholic prince as Emperor, and offer the crown to the 
Archduke Maximilian of Austria ; a regency established. 

Aug. 11, 1863. The French reoccupy Tampico. 

Oct. 1, 1863. Marshal Forey resigns his command to Bazaine, and returns 
to France. 

Oct. 3, 1863. The Archduke Maximilian accepts the crown, under condi- 
tions. 

Nov. 12, 1863. The Mexican General Comonfort surprised and shot by par- 
tisans. 

Dec. 18, 1863. Successful advance of the imperialists; Juarez retires from 
San Luis Potosi. 

Dec. 24, 1863. It is entered by the imperialists. 

Jan., Feb., '64. The French occupy various places. 

Feb. 27, 1864. The ex-President, General Santa Anna, lands at Vera Cruz, 
professing adhesion to the empire ; March 12th, dismissed 
by Bazaine. 

April 3, 1864. Juarez enters Monterey, which becomes the seat of the Re- 
publican Government. 

April 10, 1864. The Archduke Maximilian definitively accepts the crown 
from the Mexican deputation at Miramar. 

May 29, 1864. The Emperor and Empress land at Vera Cruz; June 12th, 
enter the City of Mexico 

August, 1864. The Emperor visits the interior; grants a free press. 

Dec. 27, 1864. The Republicans defeat the Imperialists at San Pedro. 

Jan. 1, 1865. Juarez at Chihuahua exhorts the Mexicans to maintain their 
independence. 

Jan. 18, 1865. The Emperor institutes the order of the Mexican Eagle. 

Feb. 9, 1865. Surrender of Oaxaca to Marshal Bazaine. 

April 10, 1865. A temporary Constitution promulgated. 



24 GENERAL INFORMATION: 

June, 1865. Ortega, at New York, enlists recruits for the Eepublica,? 
army, which is discountenanced by the United Statesj 
Government. 

Maximilian I (brother to the Emperor of Austria), born July! 
6, 1832; acceirted the crown April 10, 1864; married,! 
July 27, 1857, to Princess Charlotte, daughter of Leo-J 
pold I, King of the Belgians ; adopts Augustus Iturbide 
as his heir, September, 1865. 

October, 1865. The Emperor proclaims the end of the war, and martial law| 
against all armed bands of men. 

October, 1865. Juarez re-elected President second time. 

June 19, 1867. Execution of Maximilian at Queretaro. 
1869. Juarez re-elected President third time. 

July 18, 1872. Death of President Juarez. 

1872. Lerdo de Tejada, twenty-second President. 

Jan. 17, 1873. English railway, from Vera Cruz to Mexico (263 miles), com- 
pleted, 

June 20, 1876 Death of Santa Anna. 

Oct., Nov., " Serious revolution in Mexico. Lerdo de Tejada, though 
elected a second time, is prevented by the Diaz party 
from serving as President. 

Dec. 1, 1876. Juan N. Mendez, twenty-third (provisional) President. 

May 5, 1877. Porfirio Diaz, twenty-fourth President. 

May 5, 1877. Amendment of the .Constitution, prohibiting the election of 
the President and the Governors of the States to a sec- 
ond terra of office. 

Dec. 1, 1880. Manuel Gonzalez, twenty-fifth President. 

Dec. 1, 1884. Manuel Gonzalez's term expired.* 

Dec. 1, " Porfirio Diaz, the late Governor of the State of Oaxaca, 
was duly declared President of the Republic for the 
term of four years. 
No revolution has taken place since 1876. 

Books of reference : Prescott, Conquest of Mexico ; 
Eobertson. History of America j Lucas Alaman, Hisioria 
de Mejico ; Zamacois, Historia de Mejico. 

* Many of these events are taken from Haydn's Dictionary of Dates. 



GEOGRAPHY. 25 



III. 
Geography. 

Situation. — The Mexican KepuWic extends from the 
15th to the 32d degrees of north latitude, and from the 
87th to the 117th meridians of longitude west from Green- 
wich.* 

BouKDAEiES. — Mexico is bounded on the north by the 
United States of America, whose frontier is marked as fol- 
lows : from the mouth of the Kio Bravo, or Rio Grande 
del Norte, following the course of the river to the paral- 
lel of 31° 47' ; thence it is continued for 100 miles to the 
west on the same parallel, then to the south to latitude 
31° 11'. It now follows the latter parallel to the 111th 
meridian, and then runs to the northwest as far as the 
Rio Colorado, in latitude 32° 29' 45", and, crossing this 
river, is marked by the dividing line between Upper and 
Lower California at the Bay of San Diego. The length 
of the northern frontier is 1,900 miles. On the east, by 
the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean ; on the west, 
by the Pacific Ocean ; and, on the south, by the Republic 
of Guatemala f and the territory of Balize, or British Hon- 
duras. 

Aeea. — Mexico contains, according to Busto's Esta- 
distica de la Repnblica Mexicana, 1,958,912 square kilo- 
metres, or 756,336 square miles. The Statesman''s Year- 
Booh gives the area at 743,948 square miles. 

Topography. — Moimtains. — The Republic is traversed 
by the continuation of the Cordillera of South America, 
which in Mexico is called the Sierra Madre. It trends 
northwesterly from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 

* Approximately. 

f The long-disputed boundary question between Mexico and Guatemala 
has recently been decided in favor of the former. 



26 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



This range has a moderate elevation in the southern. 
States of Chiapas and Oaxaca ; but in latitude 19°, the 
mean altitude is about 9,000 feet above the sea-level, and 
two peaks, Popocatepetl and Orizaba, rise to the great ele- 
vations of 17,720 feet and 17,200 feet respectively. The 
former mountain is the culminating point of North Amer- 




Scene in Mexico. 

ica. On the parallel of 21° the Cordillera becomes very 
wide, and divides itself into three ranges. The eastern 
branch runs to Saltillo and Monterey ; the western branch 
traverses the States of Jalisco and Sinaloa, and subsides in 
Northern Sonora ; while the central ridge extends through 
the States of Durango and Chihuahua, forming the water- 
shed of the northern table-land. The range decreases in 
elevation in going northward. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



27 



Four peaks — viz., Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl, Orizaba, 
the Nevada de Toluca — rise above 15,000 feet ; and three 
others — the Cofre de Perote, Ajusco, and the volcano of 
Colima — are upward of 11,000 feet in altitude. (The exact 
heights of these mountains are given in Part II.) Refer- 
ring to these lofty jieaks, Humboldt remarks : * "On the 
great table-land, the colossal mountains covered with per- 
petual snow seem, as it were, to rise out of a plain. The 
spectator confounds the ridge of the soft swelling land, the 
elevated plain, with the plain of the lowlands, and it is 
only from a change of climate, the lowering of the tem- 
perature under the same degree of latitude, that he is re- 
minded of the height to which he has ascended." 

The country is divided into three zones — viz., the tierra 
calienfe, or hot land ; the tierra templada, or temperate 
land ; and the tierra fria, or cold land. About one half of 
the surface of Mexico lies in the latter zone, the remainder 
of the Republic being almost equally divided between the 
tierra templada and tierra caliente. Geographers differ in 
defining the limits of the various zones, as is shown by the 
following table : 



ZONES. 



Tierra caliente . . 
Tierra templada. 
Tierra fria 



According to Hiunboldt. 



Up to 3,936 feet. 
Up to 7,217 feet. 
Above 7,217 feet. 



According to Milner. 



Up to 2,000 feet. 
From 2,000 to 5,000 feet. 
From 5,000 to 8,000 feet. 



The coasts of the Republic are low, but the land rises 
gradually upon going toward the interior. The flat region 
of the eastern part of Mexico is wider than that of the 
western coast. In the former the tierra caliente has an 
average breadth of about 65 miles, while in the latter it 
varies from 40 to 70 miles. 



Cosmos, vol. V, p. 379. 



28 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



The annexed cut shows an exaggerated profile of the 
country between the two oceans : 




Mexican Table-land. 

Mexico consists for the greater part of an elevated pla-1 
teau having a mean height of about 6^000 feet above them' 
sea-level. This plateau extends from the frontier of the! 
United States to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is widest| 
in the latitude of the national capital, being about 350 miles 
at this point, and contracts gradually toward the south. 

The ]3rincipal table-lands of the northern Mexican pla- ' 
teau are that of Chihuahua, which lies north of latitude 
24°, and east of the Conchos and Florida Rivers, and hav- 
ing an elevation of from 4,000 to 6,000 feet, and that of 
Anahuac, which is from 6,000 to 8, 000 feet high. There are 
four distinct table-lands on the central plateau, as follows : 

That of Toluca, having a mean elevation of 8,570 feet. 

That of Tenochtitlan, " " 'i',4'70 feet. 

That of Aclopan, " " 6,450 feet. 

That of Istla, " " 3,320 feet. 

Two passes, about 500 miles apart, afford an outlet from 
the great table-land to the eastward — viz., that of Jalapa, 
through which Cortes built a road during the Conquest ; 
and one at Saltillo, through which the United States troops 
reached the plateau during the Mexican "War. 

In referring to the uniform character of the surface of 
the great plateau of Mexico, Humboldt has remarked in 
the Cosmos, vol. v, p. 380, that the traveler may proceed 
in a four-wheeled carriage on the ridge of the table-land, 
from the City of Mexico to Santa Fe, a distance of at least 



GEOGRAPHY. 29 

1,200 miles, without the advantage of artificially prepared 
roads. 

EiVERS. — Mexico, on account of the narrow form of the 
continent, which prevents the collection of a great mass of 
water, contains very few navigable streams, the principal 
ones being the Goatzacoalcos and Pdinuco Eivers. There 
are sand-bars at the mouths of many of the rivers, on which 
not more than three or four feet of water is to be found at 
low tide. Several streams could be made navigable at com- 
paratively small expense. This fact would apply especially 
to the Eio de Santiago, the longest river in the Kepublic, 
according to Humboldt, who states that it is as long as the 
Elbe or Rhone, and that the grain from the States of Gua- 
najuato and Jalisco could be thus transported to the west- 
ern coast. 

The following list gives the names and lengths of the 
principal rivers in Mexico : 

Miles. Miles. 

Kio de Santiago 542 1 Rio Pflnuco 286 

Rio de las Balzas 418 ; Rio de Sinaloa 27*7 

Rio Yaqui 338 | Rio de Ures 208 

Rio Conchos 338 Rio de Culiacan 156 

Rio de Grijalva 344 i Rio de Goatzacoalcos 112 

Rio Usumasinta 341 I 

Lakes. — There are many lakes on the Mexican j)lateau, 
most of which are extensive shallow lagoons, as in the val- 
leys of Mexico and Parras. They are only the remains of 
large basins of water that formerly existed on the high 
plains of the Cordillera. The majority of these lakes have 
no outlet, and are accordingly filled with salt water. Owing 
to rapid evaporation, their surface has diminished appreci- 
ably since the time of the Spanish Conquest. 

The Lagoon {laguna) of Terminos, on the coast of the 
Gulf of Campeche, is the largest in Mexico, but it is an 
arm of the sea, rather than a lake. 



30 OENEBAL INFORMATION. 

Strictly speaking, the Lake of Chapala, in the State of 
Jalisco, is the largest in the country. Lake Patzcuaro and 
Lake Cuitzeo are next in importance among the inland bod^ 
ies of fresh water. 

ISLAi^DS. — Mexico owns many islands on the west coast 
the principal of which are San Ignacio, Angel de la Guarda, 
Salsipuedes, Tibaron, Carmen, and Cerralvo, in the Gulf of 
California ; Cerros, Santa Margarita, and Las Tres Marias, 
in the Pacific Ocean. There are also several islands belong- 
ing to the Republic in the Gulf of Mexico, and off the coast 
of Yucatan, of which the most important are Carmen, in 
the former, and Mugeres, Cancun, and Cozumel, adjoining 
the latter. 

Guano islands abound in the southern part of the Gulf 
of Mexico, some of them being claimed by citizens of the 
United States. 

Climate, — No country on the globe has a greater variety 
of climate than Mexico. The mean temperature of the three 
zones is as follows : for the tierra caliente, 77°; for the tierra 
templada, from 68° to 70° ; and in the tierra f Ha, 62° Fahr. 
Sudden changes of temperature are uncommon in the lat- 
ter, and likewise in the tierra templada, but they are fre- 
quent in the former zone. In Vera Cruz, the mercury often 
stands at 90° in the warm season, but, if tbe wind suddenly 
changes to the northward, it will sink to 65° Fahr. in a few 
hours. 

The rainy season varies slightly in different parts of 
Mexico, but always occurs in summer. In Yucatan, Cam- 
peche. Tabasco, and Chiapas, it lasts from May to October, 
while the season begins a little later in the States of Oaxaca 
and Guerrero. In the latitude of the national capital, the 
rains fall between June 1st and October 1st, with occasional 
showers during the winter, especially in February, when 
the weather is very changeable. The Mexicans have a prov- 
erb which runs thus : 



GEOGRAPHY. 31 

" Febrero loco, 
Porque de todo, 
Tiene un poco," 

which, being interpreted, means, February is a fool be- 
cause it has a little of everything, i. e., all kinds of 
■weather. 

According to Humboldt, the annual rainfall at the City 
of Mexico amounts to fifty-nine inches. In the northern 
part of Mexico, the rainy season is in the months of July, 
August, September, and half of October. 

Snow falls in winter at an elevation of about 8,500 feet. 
According to Humboldt, the line of perpetual snow in Mex- 
ico is 15,091 feet above the level of the sea.* 

The atmosphere on the Mexican plateau is very dry. 
This aridity j)roceeds from two causes : 1. The evapora- 
tion that occurs on great plains, which is increased by the 
high table-land ; and, 2. The country is not sufficiently 
elevated for a considerable number of the mountains to 
penetrate the region of perpetual snow. Tourists are liable 
to suffer from thirst and chapped lips on arriving in the 
valley of Mexico, owing to the dryness of the climate. 
The nights are cold throughout the year on the great 
table-land north of the eighteenth parallel of latitude. In 
general, the temperature will sink as low as 45° Fahr., and 
occasionally the thermometer will fall to the freezing-point 
on the higher plains. The coldest part of the night is just 
before daybreak. In the vicinity of the snow-clad moun- 
tains, the sky is usually free from clouds in the early 
morning, but toward nine o'clock they rise gradually, and 
often cover the higher peaks for the remainder of the 
day. In the tierra cahente, and in the greater part of the 
tierra templada, a clear sky prevails, as a rule, during the 
entire year, except for a few hours of the day during the 
rainy season {el tiempo de agna). Strong winds are com- 

* Under the equator the snow-line is estimated at ISjYoO feet. 
3 



32 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

mon on the table-land, and the dust often rises in clouds , 
on the sandy plains. 

Political Divisions. — New Spain was formerly di- 
vided into ten districts, viz. : The kingdoms of Mexico J 
New Galicia, and Leon ; the colony of New Santander, and| 
the provinces of Texas, Coahuila, New Biscay, Sonora, Ne\ 
Mexico, and the two Californias. 

The country was subsequently partitioned into twelve 
intendancies and three provinces, as follows : 

1. The province of New Mexico. 

2. The intendancy of New Biscay, or Durango. 

3. The province of New California. 

4. The province of Old California. 

5. The intendancy of Sonora. 

6. The intendancy of San Luis Potosi.* 

7. The intendancy of Zacatecas. 

8. The intendancy of Guadalajara. 

9. The intendancy of Guanajuato. 

10. The intendancy of Valladolid. 

11. The intendancy of Mexico, f 
13. The intendancy of Puebla. 

13. The intendancy of Vera Cruz. 

14. The intendancy of Oasaca. 

15. The intendancy of Merida, or Yucatan. 

The Republic of Mexico is now divided into twenty- 
seven States, one Territory, and one Federal District. The 
several States are subdivided into 48 departments, 170 dis- 
tricts, 48 cantons, 110 counties, 1,411 municipalities, 146 
cities, 378 towns, 4,886 villages, 872 hamlets, 6 missions, 
5,869 haciendas, and 14,705 ranches. 

The populations of the several States are given in the 
chapter on the census. It is worthy of remark, however, 
that Jalisco has the largest number of inhabitants. The 

* The largest as regards area. 
\ The largest in population. 



LITERATURE. 



33 



following is a list of the Mexican States, classified accord- 
ing to superficial area : 



Square kilometres. 

Chihuahua 22Y,716 

Sonora 209,694 

Lower California (Territory) 152,847 

Coahuila de Zaragoza 152,51'7 

Jalisco 114,896 

Durango 110,463 

Yucatan 84,585 

Tamaulipas 75,191 

San Luis Potosi 71,210 

Vera Cruz-Llave 71,116 

Oaxaca 70,838 

Sinaloa 69,211 

Zacatecas 68,596 

Guerrero 68,568 

Campeche 67,539 

Total 1,958,912 



Square kilometrep. 

Michoacan de Ocampo 55,693 

Chiapas 43,930 

Nuevo Leon 38,156 

Tabasco 32,935 

Puebla 31,120 

Mexico 25,972 

Hidalgo 21,693 

Guanajuato 20,276 

Queretaro de Orteaga 8,300 

Colima 7,136 

Aguascalientes 5,776 

Morelos 4,536 

Tlaxcala 3,898 

Federal District 231 



IV. 
Literature. 

Up to the present time Mexican literature has occupied 
a subordinate position compared to that of Europe and the 
United States. The people of Mexico are acquainted more 
extensively with French literature than with that of any 
other country. Prieto is the great national poet ; while Cu- 
ellar, Mateos, Contreras, Paz, Peza, Payno, Altamirano, Justo 
Sierra, Carpio, and Eiva Palacio are the best-known novel- 
ists. The latter author is also a dramatic writer. 

The prevailing style of books that are read in the Ee- 
public are Spanish translations of French and English vol- 
umes. Books are admitted free of duty, and many of the 
works used in the country are printed in the Spanish lan- 
guage at Paris. 



34: GENERAL INFORMATION. 

V. 
Euins. 

ExcEPTiN'G the teocalUs, or pyramids, all of the impor- 
tant ruins in Mexico are situated in the States of Yucatan, 
Chiapas, and Oaxaca. 

A discussion of the comparative ages of these ancient 
remains, together with the most plausible theories as to 
their origin, would be foreign to the purpose of this yoI- 
ume. Suffice it to say, that the Mexican antiquarians of 
the present day consider the ruins of Uxmal, in Northern 
Yucatan, to be the oldest ; those of Palenque, in Chiapas, 
next in rank ; and Mitla, in Oaxaca, third in point of age. 

It is worthy of remark that neither Palenque nor Mitla 
(the former being buried in a dense forest), was known to 
the outside world until a comparatively recent period — i. e., 
about 1750 ; but the remains in Yucatan were familiar to 
Europeans long before. 

These ruins were built of hewn stone, and all writers 
have referred to the skill in architecture and workman- 
ship exhibited in them. The ordinary dwelling-houses 
must have been made chiefly of wood, or of some other ma- 
terial that perished long ago, for at the present time no 
traces of them are visible. 

Grreat cities and temples are to-day concealed by thick 
forests, and the traveler can not form a correct idea of 
their original size. It is to be regretted that, with the 
present limited facilities for traveling, many of the ruins 
of Southern Mexico are difficult of access. The princi- 
pal remains lie remote from the sea-coast and also from the 
lines of railroad. 

Let us begin with the ruined edifices of Yucatan, and 
describe the places in their geographical and supposed his- 
torical order. 



HVINS. 35 

Baldwin, in Ancient America, p. 101, says : '' Near the 
ruins, ... in Yucatan, are frequently found the remains 
of many finely-constructed aguadas, or .artificial lakes. 
The bottoms of these lakes were made of flat stones laid 
in cement, several layers deep. In Yucatan traces of a 
very ancient paved road have been found. This road ran 
north and south, and j^robably led to cities in the region 
now covered by the great wilderness. It was raised above 
the graded level of the ground, and made very smooth." 

The same author, on pp. 125, 126, states: "The re- 
mains of ancient cities are abundant in the settled portion 
of Yucatan which lies north of the great forest. Charnay 
found ' the country covered with them from north to south.' 
Stephens states, in the preface to his work on Yucatan, 
that he visited 'forty-four ruined cities or places,' in which 
such remains are still found, most of which were unknown 
to white men, even to those inhabiting the country. . . . 

' ' Previous to the Spanish Conquest, the region known 
to us as Yucatan was called Maya. It is still called Maya 
by the natives among themselves.* . . . 

"At that time the country was occupied by the people 
still known as Mayas. . . . Yucatan was then more popu- 
lous than at present. The people had more civilization, 
more regular industry, and more wealth. They were much 
more highly skilled in the arts of civilized life. They had 
cities and large towns. . . . This peninsula had been the 
seat of an important feudal monarchy, which arose prob- 
ably after the Toltecs overthrew the very ancient kingdom 
of Xibalba. It was broken up by a rebellion of the feudal 
lords about a hundred years previous to the arrival of the 
Spaniards. According to the Maya chronicles, its down- 
fall occurred in the year 1420. Mayapan, the capital of 
this kingdom, was destroyed at that time, and never after- 
ward inhabited." 
* The Maya language is spoken in Yucatan at the present day. — A. R. C. 



36 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

The most important ruins are found at Mayapan, Ux' 
mal, and Chichen-Itza, in the northern part of the penin- 
sula. We will describe them in the following order : 

MATAPAN". 

The remains of this ancient capital lie about thirty 
miles south of Merida. They are scattered oyer a broad 
plain. The principal edifices are the great mound and a 
circular stone structure. The former is sixty feet in height, 
and has a base that is one hundred feet square. Four stair- 
ways, twenty-five feet in width, lead to the summit, which 
consists of a simple stone platform fifteen feet square. The 
latter building is twenty-five feet in diameter, and stands 
on a sloping foundation thirty-five feet in height. Two 
rows of columns, without capitals, and lying eight feet' 
apart, are seen on the southwestern side of it. Brasseur 
de Bourbourg ranks several of the foundations of the Maya- 
pan edifices with the oldest seen at Palenque. 

About forty miles south of Mayapan are found the far- 
famed ruins of 

U5MAL. 

Stephens says that the XJxmal remains are worthy to 
stand side by side with those of Egyptian and Koman art. 
Baldwin, in Ancient America, pp. 131-136, describes Ux-, 
mal as follows : " The ruins in Uxmal have been regarded 
as the most important in Yucatan, partly on account of 
the edifices which remain standing, but chiefly because 
they have been visited and explored more than the others. 
. . . The area covered by its remains is extensive. Char- 
nay makes it a league or more in diameter, but most of 
the structures have fallen, and exist only in fragments 
scattered over the ground. . . . 

* Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, vol. 
ii, p. 430. 



RUINS. 37 

'' The most important of those remaining was named 
' Casa del Gobernador ' by the Spaniards. It is 320 feet 
long, and was built of hewn stone laid in mortar or cement. 
The faces of the wall are smooth np to the cornice. Then 
follows, on all four sides, * one solid mass of rich, compli- 
cated, and elaborately sculptured ornaments, forming a sort 
of arabesque.' . . . This building has eleven doorways in 
front, and one at each end, all having wooden lintels which 
have fallen. The two principal rooms are 60 feet long, and 
from 11 to 13 feet wide. This structure is long and narroAV. 
... It stands on the summit of one of the grandest of the 
terraced foundations. This foundation, like the oihers, is 
pyramidal. It has three terraces. The lowest is 3 feet 
high, 15 wide, and 575 long ; the second is 20 feet high, 
275 wide, and 545 long ; the third, 19 feet high, 30 wide, 
and 360 long. Structures formerly existed on the second 
terrace, remains of which are visible. . . . 

"Another important edifice at XJxmal has been named 
* Casa de las Monjas ' — House of the Nuns. It stands on a 
terraced foundation, and is arranged around a quadrangu- 
lar courtyard 258 feet one way and 214 the other. The 
front structure is 279 feet long, and has a gateway in the 
center, 10 feet 8 inches wide, leading into the court, and four 
doors on each side of it. The outer face of the wall, above 
the cornice, is ornamented with sculptures. . . . All the 
doorways, save those in front, open on the court.* . . . 

" Other less important edifices in the ruins at Uxmal 
have been described by explorers, some of which stand 
on high pyramidal mounds ; and inscriptions are found 
here, but they are not so abundant as at Palenque and 
Copan." 

The remains at Chichen-Itza are similar to those at 
Uxmal. They are situated a few leagues east of Mayapan, 

* Stephens has remarked that there are no idols, nor stuccoed figures, 
nor carved tablets at Uxmal. 



38 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

in northern Yucatan. The principal buildings are the 
" church," the palace of the monks, the red house or cam 
colorada, and the "gymnasium," or tennis-court. In one 
of the edifices are found rooms whose walls are covered 
with picture-writing. Some of them are ornamented with 
figures of serpents. 

There are other ruins of importance at Izamal, Labna, 
Zayi, and Xcoch, in the northern and central portions of 
Yucatan, but they are of the same general character as 
those aboYC mentioned. 

One remarkable ruin is found at Ake, in the northern 
part of the State. It was once a massive structure, but at 
the present day only thirty-six columns in three parallel 
rows remain. They are about fifteen feet high and four feet 
square. Euins may also be seen on the island of Cozumel. 
( Vide Section I in Part second for description of routes.) 

PALENQUE. 

Baldwin, in Ancient America, pp. 104-106, thus de- 
scribes the ruins at this place : " No one can tell the true 
name of the ancient city now called Palenque. It is known 
to us by this name because the ruins are situated a few 
miles distant from the town of Palenque, now a village, 
but formerly a place of some importance. . . . More than 
two hundred years passed after the arrival of the Spaniards 
before their existence became known to Europeans. They 
were discovered about the year 1750. 

"^ Since that year decay has made some progress in them. 
Captain del Eio, who visited and described them m 1787, 
examined ' fourteen edifices ' admirably built of hewn stone, 
and estimated the extent of the ruins to be ' seven or eight 
leagues one way (along the River Chacamas), and half a 
league the other.' He mentions 'a subterranean aqueduct 
of great solidity and durability, which passes under the 
largest building.' . . . 



RUINS. 39 

" The largest known building at Palenque is called the 
* Palace. ' It stands near the river, on a terraced pyramidal 
foundation, 40 feet high and 310 feet long, by 260 feet 
broad at the base. The edifice itself is 228 feet long, 180 
wide, and 25 feet high. It faces the east, and has 14 door- 
ways on each side, with 11 at the ends. It was built en- 
tirely of hewn stone, laid with admirable precision in 
mortar, which seems to have been of the best quality. A 
corridor 9 feet wide, and roofed by a pointed arch, went 
round the building on the outside ; and this was separated 
from another within of equal width. 

" The ' Palace ' has four interior courts, the largest be- 
ing 70 by 80 feet in extent. These are surrounded by cor- 
ridors, and the architectural work facing them is richly 
decorated. Within the building were many rooms. From 
the north side of one of the smaller courts rises a high 
tower, or pagoda-like structure, 30 feet square at the base, 
which goes up far above the highest elevation of the build- 
ing, and seems to have been still higher when the whole 
structure was in perfect condition. The great rectangular 
mound used for the foundation was cased with hewn stone, 
the workmanship here, and everywhere else throughout 
the structure, being very superior. The piers around the 
courts are ' covered with figures in stucco, or plaster, which, 
where broken, reveals six or more coats or layers, each re- 
vealing traces of painting.' This indicates that the build- 
ing had been used so long before it was deserted that 
the plastering needed to be many times renewed. There is 
some evidence that painting was used as a means of decora- 
tion ; but that which most engages attention is the artistic 
management of the stone- work, and, above all, the beauti- 
fully executed sculptures for ornamentation. 

" Two other buildings at Palenque, marked by Mr. 
Stephens, in his plan of the ruins, as ' Casa No. 1 ' and 
' Casa No. 2,' . . . . are smaller, but in some respects still 



4:0 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

more remarkable. The first of these, 75 feet long by 25 
"wide, stands on the summit of a high truncated pyramid, 
and has solid walls on all sides save the north, where there 
are five doorways. Within are a corridor and three rooms. 
Between the doorways leading from the corridor to these 
rooms are great tablets, each 13 feet long and 8 feet high, 
and all covered with elegantly-carved inscriptions. A simi- 
lar but smaller tablet, covered with an inscription, appears 
on the wall of the central room. 

" ' Casa No. 2 ' consists of a steep and lofty truncated 
pyramid, which stands on a terraced foundation, and has 
its level summit crowned with a building 50 feet long by 
31 wide, which has three doorways at the south, and within 
a corridor and three rooms. This edifice, sometimes called 
* La Cruz,' has, above the height required for the rooms, 
what is described as ' two stories of interlaced stucco-work, 
resembling a high, fanciful lattice.' Here, too, inscribed 
tablets appear on the walls ; but the inscriptions, which 
are abundant at Palenque, are by no means confined to tab- 
lets. As to the ornamentation, the walls, piers, and cor- 
nices are covered by it. Everywhere the masterly work- 
manship and artistic skill of the old constructors compel 
admiration ; Mr. Stephens going so far as to say of sculp- 
tured human figures found in fragments : ' In justness of 
proportion and symmetry they must have approached the 
Grreek models.'" 

It is probable that more buildings will be found at Pa- 
lenque when the ruins have been fully explored. Mr. Ste- 
phens, referring to the dense vegetation, says : " Without a 
guide, we might have gone within a hundred feet of the 
buildings without discovering one of them." On account 
of the great abundance of inscriptions at Palenque, which 
have not thus far been deciphered, these ruins are consid- 
ered to be very important by archaeologists. (For routes to 
Palenque, see pp. 150-15G.) 



Eums. 41 



MITLA. 

Baldwin, in Ancient America, pjj. 117-122, describes 
these ruins as follows : 

" The niins called Mitla are in the Mexican State of 
Oaxaca, about twelve leagues east from the city of Oaxaca. 
They are situated in the upper part of a great valley, and 
surrounded by a waste, uncultivated region. At the time 
of the Spanish Conquest they were old and much worn by 
time and the elements, but a very large area was then cov- 
ered by remains of ancient buildings. At present only six 
decaying edifices and three ruined pyramids, which were 
very finely terraced, remain for examination, the other struct- 
ures being now reduced to the last stage of decay. . . . 

"Four of the -standing edifices are described by Dupaix 
as 'palaces,' and these, he says, 'were erected with lavish 
magnificence ; . . . they combine the solidity of the works 
of Egypt with the elegance of those of Greece.' And he 
adds : ' But what is most remarkable, interesting, and 
striking in these monuments, and which alone would be 
sufficient to give them the first rank among all known 
orders of architecture, is the execution of their mosaic re- 
lievos — very different from plain mosaic, and consequently 
requiring more ingenious combination, and greater art and 
labor. They are inlaid on the surface of the wall, and 
their duration is owing to the method of fixing the pre- 
pared stones into the stone surface, which made their union 
with it perfect. ' . . . 

*'The general character of the architecture and ma- 
sonry is much like that seen in the structures at Palenque, 
but the finish of the workmanship appears to have been 
more artistic and admirable. These ruins are remarkable 
among those of the country where they are found. All 
who have seen them speak much as Dupaix speaks of the 
perfection of the masonry, the admirable design and finish 



42 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

of the work, and the beauty of the decorations. Their 
beauty, says M. Charnay, can be matched only by the 
monuments of Greece and Rome in their best days. One 
fact presented by some of the edifices at Mitla has a cer- 
tain degree of historical significance. There appears to be 
evidence that they were occupied at some period by people 
less advanced in civilization than their builders. . . . 

" Two miles or more away from the great edifices here 
mentioned, toward the west, is the ' Castle of Mitla.' It 
was built on the summit of an isolated and precipitous hill 
of rock, which is accessible only on the east side. The 
whole leveled summit of this hill is inclosed by a solid wall 
of hewn stone, 21 feet thick and 18 feet high. This wall 
has salient and retiring angles, with curtains interposed. 
On the east side it is flanked by double walls. Within the 
inclosure are the remains of several small buildings. The 
field of these ruins was very large three hundred years ago. 
At that time it may have included this castle." 

Humboldt, in his Political Essay on New Spain, vol. 
ii, pp. 239, 240, has described these remains as follows : 

"The village of Mitla was formerly called Miguitlan, a 
word that means, in the Mexican language, a place of sad- 
ness. The Tzapotec Indians call it Leola, which signifies 
tomb. . . . The palace, or rather the tombs of Mitla, form 
three edifices symmetrically placed in an extremely roman- 
tic situation. The principal edifice is in the best j)reserva- 
tion, and is, nearly 130 feet in length. A stair formed in a 
pit leads to a subterraneous apartment of 88 feet in length 
and 26 feet in breadth. This gloomy apartment is covered 
with the same grecques which ornament the exterior walls 
of the edifice. But what distinguishes the ruins of Mitla 
from all the other remains of Mexican architecture is six 
porphyry columns, which are placed in the midst of a vast 
hall, and support the ceiling. These columns, almost the 
only ones found in the new continent, bear strong marks 



RUINS. 43 

of the infancy of the art. They have neither base nor cap- 
itals. . . . Their total height is 16^ feet, but their shaft 
is of one piece of amphibole porphyry. Broken-down frag- 
ments, for ages heaped together, conceal more than one 
third of the height of these columns. . . . The distribu- 
tion of the apartments in the interior of this singular edi- 
fice bears a striking analogy to what has been remarked in 
the monuments of Upper Egypt drawn by M. Denon and 
the savans, who compose the institute of Cairol M. de La- 
guna found in the ruins of Mitla curious paintings repre- 
senting warlike trophies and sacrifices. "... 

Jeffreys states that the buildings at Mitla were probably 
erected by either the Mixtec or Tzapotec Indians. — {Vide 
p. 169.) 

THE PTKAMIDS. 

The teocalUs may now be mentioned. They are to be 
found principally at Cholula, San Juan Teotihuacan, and 
Papantla. They may be described in the following order : 

Cliolula. 
This town lies seven miles west of the city of Puebla. 
Its pyramid is by far the largest, oldest, and most impor- 
tant in Mexico. The original dimensions were as follows : 
Height, 177 feet ; horizontal width of the base, 1,423 feet ; 
and area, 45 acres. It is built of alternate strata of brick and 
clay, and the sides correspond to the direction of the me- 
ridians and parallels. At present three terraces can be dis- 
tinctly seen, and the outlines of two others may be traced. A 
winding road, which is paved with stone, leads up to the sum- 
mit. The latter is about 200 feet square. It affords a fine 
view of the valley of Puebla. A chapel has been erected 
by the Mexicans on the platform of this great mound. It is 
built of brick and stone, with a dome and two towers ; and 
the interior contains ornamental frescoes and decorations. 
It is called San Tuariol de los Remedios. Some vegetation 



u 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



is seen on the pyramid. It consists of the cactus, pito, and 
a few pirii trees. Several writers have suggested that the 
founders of the mound at Cholula may have had some de- 
sign in building it near the lofty volcano of Popocatepetl, 




Aztec Temple. 



or "i\\Q smoking mountain." This primitive race may 
have been fire as well as serpent worshipers. 

Unfortunately the great temple of Cholula has been 
partially destroyed, A few years ago a cut was made in 
the western side of it for a railroad track ! — ( Vide p. 173.) 



San Juan Teotilmacan. 

The teocallis at this town rank next to Cholula in point 
of age. The word '' Teotihuacan " means the habitation 



HUII^S. 45 

of the gods. It is now a small village, though it was once 
a flourishing city, and the rival of Tula, the great Toltec 
capital. The two principal pyramids were dedicated to To- 
natiuh, the Sun, and to Meztli, the Moon.* The former is 
the larger, its height being 180 feet, and the length of the 
base 682 feet. Its platform is to-day about 75 feet square, 
and the middle point is marked by a modern cylindrical 
monument of stone, about 5 feet high and 6 feet in diameter. 
The summit of this pyramid is said to have been crowned 
with a temple, in which was a gigantic statue of its jDresid- 
ing deity, the Sun, made of one entire block of stone, and 
having a breastplate of gold and silver. Three terraces are 
now visible on this larger mound. It is constructed of 
blocks of basalt and trachyte rock. 

About half a mile to the northward of the pyramid of 
the Sun is that dedicated to the Moon. The observer may 
distinguish two terraces on the latter. The summit is about 
20 by 40 feet. Traces of an ancient tomb were formerly 
visible on it. A cross, standing on a pedestal about 12 feet 
high, has been erected recently f at the center of the plat- 
form. It is reached by a winding pathway on the south 
side. The building materials of this mound resemble those 
of the larger one. M. Charnay, a recent explorer, is said 
to have found an idol buried in the interior. The same 
traveler made a cut into this pyramid to settle the question 
whether the teocalUs were hollow. J He dug a gallery half 
way through, and found the interior to be solid. We sub- 
mit, however, that this experiment has not solved the prob- 
lem in general. 

A great number of smaller pyramids are seen around the 
two principal ones. Few exceed twenty-five feet in height. 
According to tradition, they were dedicated to the stars, 
and served as sepulchres for the illustrious men of the 

* Vide Prcscof/, vol. ii, p. 388. f On February 11, 1881. 

:{: According to tradition these pyramids were hollow. 



46 GENERAL INFORMATIOK 






nation. The plain on which they are built was called? 
Micoatl, or "Path of the Dead." Arrow-heads and frag- 
ments of blades of itztli or obsidian are still abundant 
at these mounds. They attest the warlike character of 
the aborigines. {Vide p. 174.) 

Papantla. 

This village lies in the State of Vera Cruz, about fifty 
miles north of Jalapa. ( Vide^. 155.) The pyramid is situ- 
ated in a dense forest about two leagues from Papantla. 
It was unknown to the first conquerors, as the Indians 
for centuries concealed this monument from them. It 
possesses great antiquity, and was only discoyered acci- 
dentally by some hunters in 1780. This pyramid was 
not built of bricks or clay mixed with whinstones, like 
those already described, but was made of immense stones 
of porphyry, in the seams of which mortar is distin- 
guishable. Many of these stones are covered with hiero- 
glyphics. Among other figures are carvings of serpents 
and crocodiles. This edifice is remarkable, not so much 
for its size, as for its symmetry, the polish of the stones, 
and the great regularity of their cut. The base of the 
pyramid is an exact square, each side being 82 feet long. 
The perpendicular height is about 60 feet. Like all Mexi- 
can teocalUs, this mound is composed of several stages. A 
huge stairway of fifty-seven steps leads to the platform or 
top of the pyramid, where the human victims were sacri- 
ficed. (The manner of sacrifice is described on p. 186.) 

Humboldt, in his great work on New Spain, refers to 
the analogy of the brick monuments of Anahuac to the 
temple of Belus at Babylon, and to the pyramids near Sak- 
hara in Egypt. On page 195 of vol. ii he says : '' There 
are in Mexico pyramids of several stages, in the forests of 
Papantla, at a small elevation above the level of the sea, 
and in the plains of Cholula and Teotihuacan, at elevations 



EUINS. 



47 



surpassing those of our passes in the Alps. "We are aston- 
ished to see in regions most remote from one another, and 
under climates of the greatest diversity, man following the 
same model in his edifices, in his ornaments, in his habits, 
and even in the form of his political institutions." 

The same author gives the following comjaarative table 
of the great pyramids of the world. It will be seen that 
in the mound of Cholula the length of the base to the per- 
pendicular height is as 8 to 1, while in that of Ghizeh this 
proportion is nearly 8 to 5 : 

Stone Pyramids. 



French feet.* 



Cheops. 



Height 

Lens:th of base 



448 



Cephren. 



398 
655 



Mycerinus. 



162 

280 





Brick 


Pyramids. 




French feet. 






Of Ave stages 

in Egypt, neai- 

Sakhara. 


Of four stages in Mexico. 




Teotihuacan. 


Cholula. 


Height 

Length of base 


150 
210 


ITl 
645 


172 
1 355 







There are also teocalUs at Misantla, Tusapan, Mapilca, 
and Casones in the northern part of the State of Vera Cruz. 

These pyramids are scattered over Central and Eastern 
Mexico. Several writers on archaeology believe that they 
were built by the Toltecs, who are supposed to have been 
the authors of the mounds in Ohio. 



NORTHERN MEXICO. 

Ancient remains are rare north, as well as west, of the 
valley of Mexico. Toltec ruins are found at Tula, which 

* A French foot equals 1-066 English feet. 



48 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 






lies about fifty miles north of the capital. The ruins on 
the northern part of the table-land consist of communal 
dwellings, similar to those of the Pueblo Indians of NewM| 
Mexico. They were built of several stories, one being" 
ranged above the other. There were no doors on the first 
floor, and the upper stories were reached by means of lad- 
ders. The roofs were commonly flat. These edifices were 
sometimes built of stone, but wood and adobe, or sun-dried 
brick, have been more frequently used. 




Toltec Palace. 

This class of ruins is common in the State of Chihuahua, 
and also in the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico. 
The reports of the Pacific Eailroad surveys describe many 
of these ancient towns. Some of them are still inhabited, 
as Taos, Zuni, and Moqui. If the traveler approaches 
Mexico by either of the railroads in Colorado or Arizona, 
he will pass within a few miles of some of the ''Pueblo" 
dwellings. The Indians of the New Mexican pueblos re- 
semble those of Mexico in stature, physiognomy, and 



HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS. 49 

habits. Apparently they are the same race of jjeople, and 
it is not improbable, that their ancestors built some of the 
magnificent edifices that remain in the southern part of 
the country. 

Tourists, who are not specially interested in Mexican 
archgeology, are recommended to confine themselves to 
visiting the ruins of Mitla, Cholula, and San Juan Teoti- 
huacan. The former will soon be within twenty miles of 
a line of railway, and the other places are within an hour's 
walk of it. 

For additional information on the ancient remains of Mexico, 
consult the following books: 

Humboldt, Political Essay on New Sjiain. 

Kingsborougli, Mexican Antiquities. 

Dupaix, Antiquites mexicaines. 

Prescott, Conquest of Mexico. 

Baldwin, Ancient America. 

Stephens, Incidents of Travel in Central America^ Chiapas, and 
Yucatan. 

Also the works of Catherwood, "Waldeck, Del Kio, Brasseur de 
Bourbourg, and Charnay. 



VI. 
Hotels and Restaurants. 



Most of the hotels in Mexico are kept on the European 
plan ; but those of Monterey and other towns near the 
northern frontier are conducted according to the American 
system. Two-storied buildings are generally used for hotel 
purposes ; and in recent years a few convents have been 
altered for this kind of business. The inns are often 
called after ex-presidents or generals in the army. Many 
of them bear the name of the illustrious patriot Hidalgo. 

In the large cities men are commonly employed to take 



50 GENERAL INFORMATION. 



^ 



care of bed-rooms, while in the smaller towns one meets 
with chambermaids. 

Hotels are not so abundant in Mexico as in the United 
States, and the accommodations of the former are much 
inferior to those of the latter. The natives are not much 
given to traveling, owing to the difficulty and expense of 
making long journeys. When visiting a strange town they 
usually stay at the house of a friend. There are cities of 
15,000 inhabitants, remote from the regular lines of travel, 
where no inn is to be found. The General Diligence Com- 
pany, controls a great many taverns throughout the central 
portions of the country. Mexican hotels are of two classes — 
those for tourists, and those for both persons and live-stock, 
such as horses or horned cattle. The latter are called me- 
sones a,nd posadas. 

Bath-rooms are rarely found in hotels. There are, how- 
ever, excellent bath-houses in the principal cities, which 
are often within two or three minutes' walk of the princi- 
pal hotels.* 

English is rarely spoken at the inns, but French is gen- 
erally known at the larger hotels and restaurants. Many 
of the proprietors are Spaniards or Frenchmen ; and there 
is a great opening for Americans in this branch of business. 

The modern conveniences, such as hot-air furnaces, 
water-pipes and set bowls, electric bells, and gas, are al- 
most unknown. It is said that there is not a single fire- 
place in any building in Mexico, f The natives believe that 
the artificial heating of rooms m the rarefied air of the 
table-land is prejudicial to health. Public parlors are very 
rarely found in the hotels. 

The charge at first-class houses throughout the country 
is from |2 to $2.50 per day. In the capital the rates are a 

* The finest bathing establishments in Mexico are in San Luis Potosi, 
Orizaba, and Puebla. Those of the national capital are not first class. 
f The author did not see nor hear of anj. 



HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS. 51 

little higher. The best hotels and restaurants, generally 
named in the order of their merit, are given in Part 
Second. In Mexico City a good tahle dlwte dinner can 
be had in the restaurants for %1. Elsewhere the usual price 
for dinner is four reales, or fifty cents ; and in the villages 
the cost is as low as two reales for a meal. It is the custom 
to give waiters and servants a fee. A half real {medio) is 
sufficient. A cup of coffee or chocolate, with bread, is com- 
monly served for one real. A glass of spirits, wine, or beer, 
costs the same sum. 

The Mexicans use the word "fonda" as synonymous 
with restaurant, and ''fo7idita" is similar to a cafe, the 
latter term being frequently employed. In the " provincial " 
fondas, it is customary to salute persons at the table, when 
entering or leaving the room, whether acquainted or not. 

In the rural districts and in the mining towns, goat's 
milk is often used at the taverns. 

Fresh vegetables, excepting potatoes, are rarely served 
at the restaurants. Oranges and bananas are generally the 
only kinds of fruit to be met with, although the country 
affords many varieties. Tea is not usually taken ; and pies, 
tarts, cakes, and puddings, are almost unknown at the ho- 
tels and cafes. Dessert consists, as a rule, of dulce, which 
means something sweet, such as jams, preserved fruit, etc 

The natives usually eat tortillas, or corn-cakes, and 
frijoles, or brown beans. The former are found only in 
the country and small towns, but the latter are served at all 
hotels and restaurants. 

A great deal of pepper and grease is used in Mexican 
cookery. Even boiled rice is . saturated with melted lard. 
Beef and mutton, as well as poultry, are generally to be 
had at breakfast and dinner in the fondas throughout the 
Eepublic. The sugar used comes in loaves directly from 
the mills, and is broken up by hand into small pieces. A 
small quantity of refined granulated sugar is imported. 



52 GENERAL IRFOBMATION. 

The following list * of the most common dishes may be 
of service to the traveler : 

Caldo, broth ; sopa, boiled rice. 
Bacalao, codfish ; hagre, a kind of fish. 
Came, beef ; carnero, mutton. 
Ternera, veal. 
Juajalote, turkey. 
Polio, chicken. 

CMle con came, boiled beef, spiced. 
Blanquillos, or Tiuevos, eggs. 
Huevos tihios, soft-boiled eggs. 
Huevos duros, hard-boiled eggs. 
Huevos fritos por agua, poached eggs. 
Huevos fritos, fried eggs. 
Tortilla de huevos, omelette. 

CMle relleno is a fried green-pepper, stuffed with 
mince-meat and coated with eggs. 
Many kinds of bread are made in Mexico, the principal 
of which are : 

Pan de agua, '^ water " bread. 

Pan de azilcar, " sugar " bread. 

Pan de dulce, "sweet" bread. 

Pan de huevos, " egg " bread. 

Pan de leche, ''milk" bread. 

Pan de manteca, "lard " bread. 



YII. 

Passport. 

At present no passport is necessary for traveling in 
Mexico. 

* This list is not intended to supplement the vocabulary at end of Part 
Second. 



CUSTOM-HOUSES.— COMMERCE. 53 

VIII. 
Custom-Houses. 

According to the laws of Mexico, the examination of 
baggage will be made ''liberally and with prudence and 
moderation." In general the tourist will be treated politely 
by the customs officers. As regards wearing-apparel and 
jewelry for personal use, the amount of that which will not 
be subject to duty is left entirely to the discretion of the 
Government officials, taking into consideration, however, 
the character and social position of the traveler. 

At present the following "extra " articles are admitted 
free of duty : 

Two watches with their chains. 

One hundred cigars. 

Forty small boxes of cigarettes. 

Half kilogramme of snuff. 

Half kilogramme of smoking tobacco. 

One pair of pistols with accessory and with two hundred 
charges. 

A rifle, a gun or fowling-piece, with accessory and with 
two hundred charges. 

One pair of musical instruments, excepting piano-fortes 
and organs. 

Other objects not included in the foregoing list are, of 
course, subject to the duties fixed by the Mexican tariff. 
(See chapter on Duties.) 



IX. 

Commerce. 

The chief exports of Mexico are : Gold, silver, cop- 
per ore, coffee, cochineal, vanilla, indigo, hides, hemp, 



54 



GENERAL INFOEMATIOK 



maliogany and other woods. The staple imports are cot- 
ton, linen, and Avoolen manufactures, wi'ought iron, and ma- 
chinery. 

In 1875-'76 the imports amounted in value to $28,485,- 
000, and the exports to 825,435,000, of which $15,000,000 
was silver. 

The foreign commerce in 1879-'80 was as follows : 

To the United States $13,416,600 

To Great Britain 11,037,594 

To France 5,194,741 

To Germany 1,498,734 

To Spain 1,009,368 

To South America 506,488 



$32,663,525 

Of this sum the main exports were as follows : 

Silver $19,823,397 

Gold 1,180,815 

Copper 48,692 

Minerals 483,587 

Building woods 1,597,599 

Other merchandise ' 9,529,435 



$32,663,525 

The following table shows the trade of the United States 
with Mexico for the three fiscal years ending June 30, 1879, 
1880, and 1881 : 





1879. 


1880. 


1881. 


Exports 


86,761,284 
14,047,819 


$7,869,864 
16,325,417 


$11,172,738 


Imports 


17,454,126 


Total 


$20,809,103 


124,195,281 


828,626,864 







It will be seen that this table shows an increase of trade 
of $7,817,761 in two years. 



COMMERCE. 55 

Smuggling is' practiced extensively along the northern 
frontier of Mexico. 

Competent judges estimate that the annual loss to the 
Government from this source amounts to 83,000,000. It 
is said that even some of the highest officials are implicated 
in schemes for smuggling. 

According to the Official Journal, the total value of 
exports for the fiscal year of 1882-'83 was $41,807,595, of 
which about 816,500,000 were sent to the United States, 
and 817,000,000 to England. One half of the exports were 
shipped from Vera Cruz. The amount of sugar and tobacco 
exported was only 8617,000 in value. 

MOVEME:srTS OF VESSELS IN MEXICAN POETS IN ISTO-'SO.* 

Flag. No. of vessels. 

Mexican 2,227 

United States 332 

English 162 

French 115 

German 112 

Spanish 64 

Norwegian 48 

Danish 33 

Dutch 12 

Other flags 26 

Total 3,131 

The total tonnage of vessels entered can be estimated at 
1,000,000. The Mexican merchant marine consists of 421 
vessels engaged in foreign trade, and 847 barks employed 
in coasting. A Mexican line of steamers to England and 
Spain has just been established. (For description, see chap- 
ter on Traveling.) 

* Translated from the Almanack de Gotha. 



56 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



Army and Navy. 

Army. — ^Estimated yearly cost of maintenance, $8,000,- 



000. 



The personnel of the army is as follows 



Infantry, 20 battalions 

Cavalry, 14 regiments . . 

Artillery, 6 brigades and 5 batteries 

Coast-guard 

Rurales — i. e., mounted patrols . . . . 
Invalids 

Total 



Officers. 


Men. 


740 


12,200 


518 


4,850 


180 


1,645 


22 


71 


150 


1,692 


19 


280 


1,629 


20,738 



12,940 

5,368 

1,825 

93 

1,842 

299 



22,367 



Each State has also militia of its own, which takes the 
place of a police force to a considerable extent. All the 
prison-doors are guarded by soldiers, although the keepers 
are civilians. 

The soldiers are armed with Eemington rifles and car- 
bines ; and the sabres used are chiefly of American manu- 
facture. The dress-uniform is of a dark blue. 

Several of the officers of the Mexican army are reformed 
brigands. In some States, where powerful bands of han- 
ditti defied the authorities for years, the Government has 
finally dispersed them by giving the leader a military com- 
mission, and then sending him to fight against his old 
comrades. 

A large number of the officers who were in the army 
before 1876 are now on the retired list, with pay. They 
retain their rank, without power. The present (Liberal) 
Government deems this policy advisable. 

It may be remarked that Don Agustin Iturbide, the 



DUTIES. 5Y 

grandson of the Emperor Iturbide, and adopted heir of 
Maximilian, holds a commission in the republican army. 
He studied at Tacubaya, the seat of the National Military 
Academy. 

Navy. — The navy consists of four gunboats. 



XL 

Duties. 

An" elaborate description of the Mexican tariff would 
be out of place in this guide-book. Suffice it to say, that 
there is an import duty on almost everything, except 
agricultural and scientific instruments and books. Up to 
November 1, 1882, machinery was admitted free. It now 
bears a duty of fifty cents per hundred kilogrammes (220 
pounds). Since November 1, 1881, there has been an ad- 
ditional "package " duty on merchandise imported into the 
Eepublic. Nearly all articles are taxed heavily, especially 
carriages, buggies, and wagons. The traveler, in entering 
the country by his own carriage (either via the Eio Grande 
or otherwise), is obliged to give a bond to secure the amount 
of duties on the vehicle, in case he intends to return to the 
United States. If the bond is not filed, the regular import 
duty must be paid. 

It may be remarked that the Government pays the sub- 
sidies to the various railroads out of the customs duties. 
An amount varying from four to six per cent of the cus- 
toms receipts is pledged, and revenue-bonds are issued 
bearing no interest (see chapter on railroads). At present 
negotiatioQS for a reciprocity treaty are pending between 
the United States of America and Mexico. It is said that 
an extensive revision of the Mexican tariff is about to be 
made, by which the duties, will be considerably reduced. 



58 GENERAL INFORMATION. 



i 



XII. 
Taxes. 

In ancient Mexico the public tax was often paid in 
agricultural produce. The taxes are now levied both by 
the National and State Governments. There are also spe- 
cial taxes for railways and other purposes. Every State 
has its own tax levy, which varies from year to year. The 
Federal tax is usually one quarter of the tax paid to the 
State. It is oftentimes very difl&cult to collect the former, 
as the Eepublic can not sue the State Government for any 
deficiency that may exist. A Federal treasurer, called the 
jefe de hacienda, resides in each of the several States, to 
gather the taxes due the General Government. Taxation 
is very heavy throughout the country, and especially in the 
districts adjoining the route of the American railroads. 



XIII. 

Finance.* (in Dollars.) 

Receipts.— Budget^ 1882-'' 83. 

Custom-houses 15,000,000 

Custom-house of Mexico and excise 2,000,000 

Stamps 4,000,000 

Direct tax 900,000 

Mint 690,000 

Receipts from former fund for public education 60,000 

Post-offices and telegraphs 650,000 

Lotteries 800,000 

Other receipts 3,000,000 

Total 27,100,000 

Receipts from the several States 7,500,000 

Grand total 34,600,000 

* Translated from the Almanack de Gotha. 



PUBLIC DEBT. 59 

Expenditures. 

Legislative power 1,071,712 

Executive power 48,832 

Supreme Court 389,554 

Foreign affairs 336,280 

Interior 3,285,118 

Justice and public education 1,215,473 

Public works {Fomento) 7,551,683 

Treasury 4,648,377 

War and navy 8,514,478 

Total 27,011,507 

Expenditures of the several States 7,500,000 

Grand total 34,511,507 



XIY. 
Public Debt. 



1. Foreign debts : 

English debt of Oct. 14, 1850 $89,252,360 

English convention of Dec. 4, 1851 . 5,900,025 
Spanish convention of Dec. 6, 1853. 1,231,775 
Spanish convention of Nov. 12, 

1853 5,553,287 

Indebtedness to the United States 

of July 4, 1868 2,775,123 

$104,712,570 

2. Internal debt 40,241,215 

Total * $144,953,785 

The Mexican GoTernment does not recognize the debts 
as stated by the English and Spanish conventions. All the 
foreign debts, except that due the United States, are about 
to be consolidated, and bonds bearing three per cent in- 
terest, to be receivable for Government lands, adjudicated 

* Translated from the Almanack de Ootha. 



60 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

property, and letters patent, will be issued by the Execu- 
tive to pay off the indebtedness. The details of the set- 
tlement involving the amount recognized are left entirely 
to the Executive. 

The sum of $296,066.54 is annually paid out of the 
national treasury to the United States, on account of the 
debt of the convention of July 4, 1868. In 1885 Mexico 
paid the ninth installment of the debt due the United 
States. The national bugbear is the English debt {la deuda 
Inglesa). In September, 1884, Mr. Edward Noetzlin, a 
Mexican agent, made an agreement with the British bond- 
holders for a conversion of the old debt by the issue of new 
bonds to the amount of $86,000,000. This agreement con- 
tained many provisions objectionable to Mexico, and, for 
reasons which we have not space to discuss here, it was not 
ratified at the ensuing session of Congress. There is, 
however, no doubt that this debt will eventually be paid. 



XV. 

Money— Coins. 

IiS" the Aztec empire, current money consisted of bits 
of tin, bags of cocoa with a specified number of grains, 
and quills filled with gold-dust.* These commodities were 
used by measure and number, rather than by weight. (See 
Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, vol. i, p. 145, and vol. ii, 
p. 140.) 

The Spaniards introduced gold and silver coins soon 
after their arrival in the country. A few of these old coins 

* Gold-dust has been employed as currency on the Pacific coast of the 
United States for many years. This kind of money was evidently suggested 
to the Spaniards and Americans by the Aztecs. 



MONET— COINS. 61 

may be found at the shops of the silversmiths, or platerias, 
at the present day. 

The escutcheon of Mexico, i. e., a royal eagle, with ex- 
panded wings, standing on a cactus, holding a serpent in 
its beak, is stamped on one side of all the silver coins, and 
a liberty-cap and rising sun are found on the reverse. Dur- 
ing the French invasion the bust of Maximilian was substi- 
tuted for the cap of liberty. 

Mexico has followed the example of Spain in adopt- 
ing the decimal system of coinage, of which the peso is 
the basis. 

The current coins are as follows : 

SILVER. 

OnQ peso,^ or dollar, containing 8 reales, or 100 cents. 
Four reales, or one toston, 50 cents. 
Two reales, or one peseta, 25 cents. 
One real, 12|- cents. 
One medio, ^\ cents. 

COPPER. 

One cuartilla, 3 cents. 
One tlaco, 1^ cent. 

NICKEL. 

Coins of five and two cents, and of one cent, have re- 
cently been issued for general circulation. 

The standard gold coin is the onza, which equals $16 ; 
and there are 110 and $5 gold pieces. They do not circu- 
late, however, so that the traveler will have nothing to do 
with them. 

Paper currency has lately been issued by the Mexican 

* Ona peso is worth from 85 to 87 cents in United States money, so that 
a cent is only equivalent to about 8^ mills. 



62 GENERAL INFORMATION. 



i! 



National and the Mexican Mercantile Banks, and the Lon-" - 
don Bank of Mexico and South America. 

The Monte de Piedad, a Governmental corporation, has 
bank-bills from one dollar upward in circulation, which 
are taken at par throughout the Republic. Outside of 
the City of Mexico the currency of the other banks is 
received at a discount. This fact should be remembered 
by tourists. 

The London Bank of Mexico and South America will 
cash letters of credit on British and American bankers, and 
a few of the branches {sucursales) of the Banco Nacional 
Mexicano will do likewise. 

Travelers may also provide themselves with drafts on 
the various diligence offices in the interior of the country, 
by depositing the amount in advance at one of the princi- 
cipal offices. In case of robbery by brigands, the diligence 
company will repay the value of the draft, if it be taken 
from the person of the tourist, upon furnishing satisfactory 
evidence to one of the agents. 

Bankers will give a higher rate of premium on drafts on 
New York than can be had in exchanging money. In Vera 
Cruz, United States money may be exchanged for Mexican 
currency at 113 to 114 cents on the dollar ; and in Monterey 
and near the American frontier, the rate is as high as 115 
cents.* 

In the City of Mexico the banking hours are from 10 
A. M. to 4 p. M., and in other cities from 9 to 13 A. m., and 
from 2 to 4 p. m. 

Up to the year 1883 the Mexican Government has ex- 
acted an export duty of 5 per cent on coin. It is now re- 
mitted. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882, the coin 
and bullion exported amounted to $6,631,938. 

* Mexican coin can be purchased on better terms the farther the seller 
is from the country. 



02. 



The Monti: <h Picdad has recently failed : hence its 
hills should be rejected by tourists. At present, nothing is 
as safe as silver. 



POST-OFFICE AND LETTERS. 



63 



XVI. 

Mints. 

Theke were formerly fourteen mints in the country, 
the oldest of which is that of the City of Mexico. Visitors 
are admitted to these institutions from 8 to 12 a. m., and 
from 1 to 4 p. m. It is better to go in the morning, as the 
workmen are more commonly employed during this time. 
English machinery is generally used at the mints. 

The following table, taken from Senor Busto's great 
work, gives the coinage of the mints for the fiscal year of 
1878 to 1879 : 



Mints. 


Gold. 


Silver. 


Copper. 


Total. 


Mexico 


$304,500 00 

50,111 00 

212,158 00 


$5,116,000 00 

4,597,939 50 

3,740,403 75 

2,519,110 00 

1,413,161 00 

806,025 00 

891,951 00 

854,882 50 

756,598 15 

555,650 00 

153,610 00 


$14,800 00 


$5,435,300 00 
4,648,050 50 
3,952,561 75 


Guanajuato 






2,519,110 00 


Guadalajara 


3,830 00 


1,500 00 


1,418.491 00 
806,025 00 




49,230 00 

23,935 00 

13,700 00 

1,360 00 

3,700 00 




941,181 00 






878,817 50 






770,298 15 






5.^7,010 00 


Oaxaca 




157,310 00 










$662,524 00 


$21,405,830 90 


$16,300 00'$22,084,154 90 



XVII. 
Post-Office and Letters. 

Before the Conquest letters were carried throughout 
the realm by swift - footed couriers. The distance from 
Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, about 200 miles, was 
traversed in twenty-four hours. 



64 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

Eeports and messages were generally transmitted in' 
pictnre-writing. It was in this manner that Montezuma 
learned of the arrival of Cortes and his warriors. 

The various lines of steamers now carry the mail along 
the coast, and the railways, diligences, and special couriers, 
transport it into the interior. 

In 1881 the number of post-offices in the Republic was 
873, and the proceeds from the sale of stamps amounted to 
$500,000 annually. 

In addressing letters, 8r., Don, stand for *'Mr.," and 
Senora is used as the title for *'Mrs." Strangers should 
omit such affixes as " esquire," in directing letters, on ac- 
count of the difficulty the Mexican clerks have in decipher- 
ing foreign names. 

On the arrival of the mail at the post-office, the names 
on the letters are written on lists, and placed on bulletin- 
boards near the door. There are separate lists for letters 
coming from foreign countries, from the interior, and 
from the city or county in which the post-office is situ- 
ated. Sometimes a local letter is put on the foreign 
list by mistake. It will be advisable, therefore, for the 
stranger to look at all the bulletins. If the traveler sees 
his name on the list, he should write it down just as it 
appears on the board, and hand it to the clerk at the 
window. 

Post-offices are generally open from 8 to 12 A. m., and 
from 3 to 9 p. m., throughout the country. In the City 
of Mexico the office hours are from 9 a. m. to 1 p. m., and 
from 3 to 5 p. m. 

Tourists are recommended to go to the post-office in 
person, in depositing or receiving their letters, in order to 
guard against mistakes. 

Public letter-writers do a considerable business on the 
plazas of all the principal cities. Many of the natives can 
not write. In times of revolutions the post-office is of 



POST-OFFICE AND LETTERS. 65 

little use, as the insurgents examine, and often confiscate, 
the correspondence. 

At present, the rates for postage in the interior of 
Mexico are so high that letter-writing is rather expen- 
sive. The foreign are much lower than the domestic 
rates. 

Stamp-tariff . — For single letters to points in the inte- 
rior of the country, not exceeding 16 leagues, the rate is 
10 cents for each quarter of an ounce ; 25 cents for half an 
ounce ; 35 cents for three-quarters of an ounce ; 50 cents 
for each ounce. 

Single letters to points exceeding 16 leagues, 25 cents* 
for each quarter of an ounce ; 35 cents for half an ounce ; 
50 cents for three quarters of an ounce ; and 60 cents for 
each ounce. 

Printed matter in unsealed wrappers, 5 cents a pound, 
or $1.25 for a package weighing one arroba (25 pounds). 

Unsealed business circulars, 5 cents each, or $4 a hun- 
dred. Printed or engraved cards on pasteboard or vellum, 
75 cents a pound. 

For Foreign Letters. — Each half ounce (15 grammes), 
6 cents ; postal-cards, 2 cents each. 

Printed matter of all kinds : 

1 cent for 50 grammes or less. 

2 cents for 100 grammes. 

3 cents for 150 grammes. 

4 cents for 200 grammes and up to 2 kilogrammes. 
Each State in the Republic has its own stamps, with 

particular numbers marked on them. No stamps are al- 
lowed to be taken outside of the post-office, except in the 
city of Vera Cruz. The rules of the department require 
that letters must be delivered at the stamp-window, f where 

* After January 1, 1884, inland postage will be 10 cents for each quarter 
of an ounce. 

f This regulation is of great annoyance to the tourist. 



66 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

the amount of postage should be paid. The Governmen-f 
officials attach the stamps to the enyelopes. In the national] 
capital there are various shops, in the business part of the] 
city, at which letters will be received and forwarded. 



XYIIL 
Telegraphs. 

Theee are several lines of telegraph in operation through- 
out the Republic. The Federal Grovernment has its wires 
all over the country, and the States of Zacatecas, Hidalgo, 
Morelos, and Michoacan, also own telegraph-lines. The 
Mexican Railway Company, the Mexican National Rail- 
way Company, the Mexican Central Railroad Company, 
and the Morelos Railway Company, have erected lines of 
telegraph. 

It may be remarked that, in the case of the Mexi- 
can National Railway Company, the General Govern- 
ment reserves the right to put up two wires on its 
poles. 

There are private lines in the States of Jalisco and Yera 
Cruz. That of the latter State extends from the capital to 
the city of Vera Cruz, and is called the Commercial Tele- 
graph Line. A New York corporation, entitled the Mexi- 
can Telegraph Company, has established itself in the 
country ; and there are submarine cables running from 
Mexico to the United States, Central America, and South 
America. 

All the railway stations contain telegraph offices, and 
the hours of business are in general from 8 A. m. to 8 p. m. 
The principal offices of the lines belonging to the National 
and State Governments are in the business part of the 
larger cities. English is rarely spoken by the operators ; 



CENSUS. 67 

and the rates for messages are much higher than in the 
United States, 

On the 1st of June, 1885, the total number of telegraph 
lines in operation amounted to 13,120 miles. The Mexican 
Central and Mexican National Eailroad Companies are 
erecting telegraph-poles as fast as each mile of track is 
completed. In some cases the wires are extended beyond 
the temporary terminus. 



XIX. 

Census. 

No complete census has ever been taken of the Mexican 
Eepublic. The figures given in the public documents arc 
generally estimates rather than correct enumerations of the 
inhabitants. 

At the time of Humboldt's visit (in 1803), the total 
population was 5,840,000. 

In 1838, it was 7,044,140 ; in 1856, 7,859,564 ; in 1872, 
9,097,056 ; in 1874, 9,343,470 ; in 1878, 9,384,193 ; in 
1879, 9,577,279 ; in 1882, 10,000,000.* 

In 1803, the number of inhabitants in the three principal 
cities was in Mexico (city), 135,000 ; Puebla, 67,800 ; Gua- 
dalajara, 19,500. 

In 1879, Mexico had a population of 241,110 ; Guada- 
lajara, 78,600 ; Puebla, 64,588. 

The following table, copied from Sefior Busto's great 
work, gives the population of the several States, their 
area and the number of inhabitants to the square kilo- 
metre ; also the population of the capitals of the States, 
in 1879 : 

* This list is taken from Busto's Estadlstica de la Republica llexi- 
cana. 



68 



GENERAL INFORMATION: 



1. Aguascalientes 

2. Lower California(Ter.) 
8. Campeche 

4. Coahuila de Zaragoza . 

5. Colima 

6. Chiapas 

7. Chihuahua 

8. Federal District 

9. Durango 

10. Guanajuato 

11. Guerrero 

12. Hidalgo 

13. Jalisco 

14. Mexico 

15. Michoacan de Ocampo 

16. Morelos 

17. Nuevo-Leon 

18. Oaxaca 

19. Puebla 

20. Quer6taro de Arteaga 

21 . San Luis Potosi 

22. Sinaloa 

23. Sonora 

24. Tabasco 

25. Tamaalipas 

26. Tlaxcala 

27. VeraCruz 

28. Yucatan 

29. Zacatecas 



5,776 

152,847 

67,539 

152,517 

7,130 

43,930 

272,716 

231 

110,463 

20,276 

68,568 

21,693 

114,896 

25,245 

55,693 

4.536 

38,156 

70,838 

31,120 

8,300 

71,210 

69,211 

209,694 

32.935 

75,191 

3,898 

71,116 

84,585 

68,596 



140,430 
23,195 
86,299 
104,131 
65,827 
219,735 
180,758 
354,340 
190,846 
788,202 
308,716 
434,096 
994,900 
696,038 
648,857 
154,946 
194,861 
718,194 
704,872 
179,915 
506,799 
167,098 
139,140 
93,387 
144,747 
183,498 
504,970 
285,384 
413,603 



1,958,912 9,577,279 



Capitals of tlie States. 



24-30 

0-15 

1-28 

0-68 

9-22 

500 

0-66 

1,533-94 

1-73 

38-87^ 

4-50 

20-01 

8-66 

27-57 i 

11-65 

34-16 

511 

10-14 

22-63 

21-68 

7-12 

2-41 

0-66' 

2-84' 

1-92 

34-25 

7-10' 

8-37 

6-03 



Aguascalientes 

La Paz 

Campeche 

Saltillo 

Colima 

San Cristobal las Casas 

Chihuahua 

Mexico, cap. of the Kep. . . 

Durango 

Guanajuato 

Chilpancingo de los Braves 

Pachuca de Guerrero 

Guadalajara 

Toluca 

Morelia 

Cuernavaca 

Monterey 

Oaxaca de Juarez 

Puebla de Zaragoza 

Qner6taro 

San Luis Potosi 

Culiacan 

Ures 

San Juan Bautista 

Ciudad Victoria 

Tlaxcala 

Jalapa 

Merida 

Zacatecas 



31,8T2 

2,396 

15,190 

11,340 

23,57-2 

8,500 

12,116 

241,110 

27,119 

56,112 

3,800 

12,500 

78,600 

12,800 

20,400 

16,320 

15,300 

26,228 

64,588 

27,560 

34,300 

7,878 

9,700 

6,800 

7,800 

4,800 

12,400 

32,000 

32,000 



854,101 



XX. 

Population. 

The population of Mexico is divided into four great 
castes, as follows : 

Whites (individuals born in Europe, Spanish Creoles 
born in America) ; Indians ; negroes ; a mixed race (mesti- 
zos from whites and Indians, mulattoes from whites and 
negroes, zambos from Indians and negroes). 

The Indians outnumber the other inhabitants. They 
are variously estimated at from one half to three quarters 
of the entire population. They are a long-lived race, small 



ARCHITECTURE. 69 

in stature, but possessing great endurance. Thus far the 
Indians have not been affected by foreign influence. It is 
very difficult to give a correct estimate of the number of 
foreigners in the country. We are disposed to believe that 
it does not exceed 100,000. The foreign population con- 
sists chiefly of French, Spaniards, Americans, Germans, 
Italians, and English. They live mostly in the cities of 
Mexico, Vera Cruz, Puebla, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Mon- 
terey, and Guaymas. The Mexicans reside principally in 
cities and towns. In the rural districts the traveler will 
find some haciendas, or farm-houses, at a distance from any 
settlement, but isolated dwellings are rarely met with. 
Except along the trunk-lines of railroad, one can ride fif- 
teen or twenty miles in many parts of the Eepublic with- 
seeing a house. 

XXI. 

Architecture. 

The architecture of the ruined palaces and temples of 
Mexico is described in the chapter on ruins. It may be 
said, however, that the former resemble the buildings of 
the ancient Greeks and Romans in ornamentation, and the 
latter are not unlike the pyramids of Egypt in external ap- 
pearance. 

The prevailing style of modern architecture through- 
out the Eepublic is the Spanish renaissance. Almost every 
cathedral and church in the country are built in this fash- 
ion. The facades of the churches often contain beau- 
tiful stone carvings of figures of the saints, and also 
arabesque work. Mexico, Puebla, Morelia, and Guadala- 
jara, contain cathedrals that compare favorably with those 
of any other cities in the world. The plans of most of 
the Mexican churches were drawn in Spain. The build- 
ings used for secular purposes, especially those belonging 



lipipifipliili^^ 




ARCHITECTURE. 71 

to the Government, are imposing and commodious. The 
largest edifice in Mexico is the national palace at the capi- 
tal. It has two high stories and a frontage of 675 feet. 

Most of the houses have one story, and are provided 
with a patio, or courtyard, in which flowers and fruit-trees 
are planted. The roofs are generally covered with tiles, of 
which red is the prevailing color. In the principal cities a 
second story is added ; but in the capital, and in the min- 
ing towns of Guanajuato and Zacatecas, where land is quite 
valuable, the buildings contain three, and often four (in- 
cluding the entresol), floors. While the larger edifices are 
constructed of igneous rocks, such as porous amygdaloid, 
trachyte, and porphyry, the dwelling-houses are usually 
made of brick and stuccoed. The roofs of the former are 
flat, and commonly furnished with a low wall, whereas those 
of the latter slant from the ridge-piece and are provided 
with eaves. In some cities the eaves are of sufficient size 
to afford protection to the pedestrian from the sun and 
rain. 

As a rule, all buildings in Mexico are erected in the 
most substantial manner. The walls are of great thick- 
ness, and cellars are rarely seen. The windows are gen- 
erally covered with railings of Biscay iron, reminding the 
traveler of Spain. Balconies are added to those above the 
ground-floor. Many private residences of the better class 
have porte-cocheres, and a fountain in the paved court- 
yards. The dry climate is favorable to the endurance of 
the edifices, and many houses built soon after the Conquest 
are still in a fair state of preservation. 

In the villages on the table-land, the most common 
building material is adobe, or sun-dried brick. The 
peasants living in the tierra caliente and tierra templada, 
commonly use sugar-cane stalks and palm-leaves in making 
their huts. 

Tourists are advised to spend much of their time in 



Y2 GENERAL INFORMATION'. 

visiting tlie churches. The cathedrals are generally pro- 
vided with two towers, from which a fine view of the cityj 
may be obtained. These religious edifices are usually 
built in the form of a Latin cross, and the interior is 
seldom frescoed. The traveler soon grows weary of the 
white plastered walls, on which indifferent paintings are 
frequently hung. 

The cathedral of Puebla has a stone floor, while that of 
Mexico is of wood, which seems out of place in comparison 
with the solid magnificence of the building. The objects 
of interest in a Spanish church are : the high altar, the 
stalls in the choir, the lateral chapels, and the relics and 
vestments in the sacristy. 

The following terms applied to different portions of 
churches will be found useful : 

Fachadas, fa9ades ; lonja, a long platform, which often 
surrounds the churches exteriorly, and which is ascended 
by steps or grees, escalinata or gradas. 

The font is pila hautismal. 

Pila de agua iendita is the stoup, or font, containing 
holy water ; coro, is the choir ; trascoro, the back to it, 
often profusely decorated ; the respaldos del coro are the 
lateral sides of it. 

The stalls are sillas, forming silleria alta, or haja, as 
the case may be. 

The choristers' desks are called atriles ; the lectern, 
facistol, and the transept, crucero. Over it often rises a 
dome or lantern, which is called cimborio, and, from its 
shape, media naranja. 

The purclose, or railings, rejas, are often beautifully 
executed, and made of silver. 

The abside contains a capilla mayor, with the high 
altar, altar mayor ; the reredos, or screen rising from it, is 
named the retaUo. The latter are commonly exquisitely 
gilded. The right side of the altar — i. e., the right of the 



PAINTING. Y3 

celebrant, looking from the altar — is called lado del evan- 
gelio ; the left is lado de la epistola. 

The chapter is el cahildo. 

The sagrario is a special chapel, where the Holy of 
Holies is often placed, de manifiesto, or displayed. 

The vestry is la sacristia ; the sexton, sacristan. 

The relics, vestments, plate, etc., are kept in what is 
called el relicario. 

Monaguillos are the vestry boys. 

Misa mayor is high mass. 

The belfry is la torre or el campanario. 



XXII. 

Painting. 

The art of painting was rudely known among the Az- 
tecs, whose means of conveying information was called 
picture-writing. Unfortunately for learning as well as 
for art, Zumarraga, the first bishop of Mexico, ordered all 
Aztec paintings and manuscripts to be committed to the 
flames. There are, however, a few specimens of these an- 
tique pictures in the museum at the national capital. 
There are but two academies of fine arts in the Republic, 
one at the City of Mexico, and one at Guadalajara. Art 
schools are connected with each, and another has been es- 
tablished at Puebla. 

The academy of San Carlos, at the capital, contains 
paintings of considerable merit. Among the best Mexican 
artists are Jose and Luis Juarez, Baltazar de Chave, Obre- 
gon, Parra, Arteaga, Eodriguez, Ibarra, and Cabrera, the 
latter being an Indian. There are several excellent por- 
traits of illustrious Mexicans in the Sala de Embajadores 
at the National Palace, most of them having been painted 
by Segredo and Obregon. 



74 GENERAL INFORMATION: 



11 



The chiirclies throughout the country are full of pic- 
tures, most of which are the work of Spanish artists, such 
as Murillo, Velasquez, Zurbaran, and Ribera. There are 
paintings by the former in the cathedrals of Mexico and 
Puebla, and in the church of La Compania at the latter city. 

The picturesque landscapes and street scenes of Mexico 
afford good material for artists, and we would recommend 
the country to them as a new field of labor. 



XXIII. 
Immigration. 

The Mexican Government has recently adopted a com- 
prehensive plan for the encouragement of immigration. 
Agents are employed to bring settlers into the country. 
There is a bonus of from forty to fifty dollars a head for 
each immigrant, and the Government gives each helpless 
one an allowance of twenty-five cents a day till he can sup- 
port himself. Many Italians have come into Mexico. Some 
have been brought from New York, and others directly 
from the ports of JSTorthern Italy. This scheme, however, 
is not productive of beneficial results. Each immigrant is 
maintained at the public expense for an indefinite period, 
and there is little incentive to work. Furthermore, a 
number of these Italian settlers belong to the criminal 
classes. A Mexican official of high rank has lately in- 
formed the author that this plan is about to be discon- 
tinued. 

The Mexican Transatlantic Steamship Company * will 
receive thirty dollars a head for each immigrant. 

As the Federal Government owns but little land, of 
which sections may be given to settlers,- arrangements have 
been made with the railroads to carry immigrants to the 

* The company's steamers are now in progress on the Clyde. 



IMMIGRATION. 75 

interior at reduced rates. The Government will pay for 
their passage ; but, as the metes and bounds of the public 
lands are not accurately defined, it would seem as if no 
lands could be given away at present. 

Senor M. Romero states, in The International Revieio 
for November, 1882, that land in the State of Chiapas is 
valued at twenty cents an acre, while that in Sonora is 
worth only five cents. 

Land is not for sale, however, in large quantities, ex- 
cepting a few stock-ranches in Northern Mexico. The 
proprietors are still sufficiently imbued with feudal notions 
to prompt them to hold on to their real estate. A few 
families still retain immense tracts. One hacendado is 
said to own an area of 10,000 square miles on the northern 
part of the Great Plateau. 

The railroad companies have occasionally been obliged 
to pay very high for a site on which to build a station and 
freight-house in the farming districts. 

We venture to predict that settlers will pour into Mex- 
ico rapidly after the American trunk-lines are completed. 

It is obvious, however, that the introduction of intelli- 
gent Americans, with capital, will be a very different thing 
from the influx of poverty-stricken peasants or miners from 
Europe. 

American immigration means permanent colonization, 
whereas that from other countries will hardly attain that 
distinction. 

It is possible, however, that colonies of German or Brit- 
ish miners may be established in Mexico. High wages and 
the salubrious climate will tend to attract them. During 
the year 1882 settlements of Europeans were founded in 
the States of Vera Cruz, Puebla, Morelos, and San Luis 
Potosi. The majority will certainly enter the Eepublic 
with the intention of engaging in either mining or manu- 
facturing enterprises. 



76 GENERAL INFORMATION 

XXIV. 
Mines. 

An" elaborate description of the mineral wealth of Mex- 
ico would require a large volume. We have only space for 
a brief account of the mines, together with some statistics 
of the production of the precious metals. 

The Cordillera, from Chihuahua on the north to Oaxaca 
on the south, contains almost inexhaustible deposits of 
gold, silver, iron, copper, and lead ; while zinc, mercury, 
tin, platinum, and coal occur in a few localities. The 
greatest variety of ores is found in the States of Sonora, 
Chihuahua, Michoacan, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. The first 
and last named States of the Republic possess auriferous 
gravel or placer deposits. 

Before the Conquest the mines of gold, silver, copper, and 
tin were worked by the Aztecs ; but the accounts usually 
given of the fabulous amount of gold used by this race of 
people, either for ornament or as money, have been greatly 
exaggerated. Cortes seized a large sum of gold at the an- 
cient capital of Mexico, the amount of which is variously 
estimated by different authors. The most accurate writers 
place the figures at 1300,000. As soon as the Spaniards 
had conquered Mexico, they turned their attention to the 
development of the mineral wealth of the country. The 
mines of Tasco, Zultepec, Pachuca, San Pedro de Jorullo, 
and Tlalpujahua were almost the only ones that were 
worked directly after the destruction of the city of Tenoch- 
titlan in 1531, and from that time to 1548, when the silver 
deposits of Zacatecas were discovered. 

Argentiferous veins constitute the principal part of the 
mineral wealth of Mexico, the silver generally occurring 
in the form of sulphides. The gangue is chiefly quartz. 
Most of these mines are situated between north latitude 
19° and 24J°. 



MINES. 77 

Humboldt, in his Political Essay on New Spain, vol. 
iii, page 138, states the order of the districts contaiBing the 
richest deposits of silver as follows : 1. Guanajuato. 2. 
Catorce. 3. Zacatecas, 4. Eeal del Monte. 5. Bolanos. 
6. Guarisamey. 7. Sombrerete. 8. Tasco. 9. Batopilas. 
10. Zimapan. 11. Fresnillo. 12. Ramos. 13. Parral. 

In 1803,* the mean annual yield of the precious metals 
amounted to 2,500,000 marcs of silver, and 700 marcs of 
gold. It is said that the total product of the Mexican 
mines up to the year 1883 is equal to $3,700,000,000 of 
silver. We should remember, however, that some of these 
mines are now on American soil, e. g., those of California, 
New Mexico, and Arizona. The yield of silver for 1882 
can be roughly estimated at $28,000,000, while that of 
gold amounts to about $1,000,000. f Millions of dollars' 
worth of silver have long been and are now being exported 
to Europe. Humboldt states, in his work on New Spain, 
that two thirds of the silver supply of the whole world was 
annually shipped from the port of Vera Cruz, between the 
years 1800 and 1812, and some silver was also sent abroad 
from Acapulco. At present about fourteen millions' worth 
of this metal are annually exported to Europe. (Compare 
with chapter on commerce.) 

The supply of silver in Mexico is now derived chiefly 
from the mines of Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Sombrerete, Ca- 
torce, and Pachuca. Gold generally occurs in small quan- 
tities with the silver-ores. But most of it is lost in the 
process of reduction. 

According to Humboldt, the joint yield of the Zacatecas 
and Guanajuato mines from 1548 to 1600 was $2,000,000, 
and from 1600 to 1690 it was $3,000,000. The ores at the 

* At the time of Humboldt's visit. 

•f Tlie production of the mines of the United States for the fiscal year 
of 1882-'83 was $47,000,000 of silver and $32,000,000 of gold, given in 
round numbers. 



78 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

former locality, as well as at Tasco and Catorce, are poor in 
gold ; while those of the latter town, and also at G-nadalupe 
y Calvo, are rich in their percentage of the same metal. 

Perhaps the two most remarkable mineral veins of North 
America, excepting the famous Comstock lode of Nevada, 
are the veta madre of Guanajuato and the veta grande of 
Zacatecas. These veins have been worked for about three 
hundred years. ( Vide section on the Mexican Central Eail- 
road, for description.) The region adjoining these mining 
towns is an elevated desert, similar to the environs of Vir- 
ginia City in Nevada. 

Next to argentiferous deposits in importance are the 
immense beds of iron, which consist principally of the ox- 
ides called magnetite and hematite. The well-known Cerro 
del Mercado, in the State of Durango, has been calculated to 
contain sixty million cubic yards of iron-ore, having a spe- 
cific weight of five billion quintals. An analysis of this ore 
by Mr. M. H. Borje, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, gave 
66 per cent of pure metal. There are other vast hills of 
iron in Sonora, near Coalcoman, in Michoacan, and in the 
central part of the State of Oaxaca. 

Lead-ores, usually in the form of galena and oftentimes 
argentiferous, are abundant throughout the country. 

Copper, either native or as oxide, carbonate, or sulphide, 
is mined at various localities in Chihuahua and Oaxaca, at 
the towns of Mazapil and Jalapa, and near the volcano of 
Jorullo, and also in Lower California. 

The oxide of tin is found in veins and alluvial beds at 
Durango. 

Mercury occurs combined with sulphur, i. e., cinnabar, 
in the States of Guerrero, San Luis Potosi, Michoacan, 
Oaxaca, Chihuahua, and Guanajuato. Zinc-ores are met 
with in Chihuahua ; and platinum, antimony, cobalt, and 
nickel come from the same State. These last-named metals, 
however, are not found in large quantities. 



MINES. 79 

There are beds of coal in various parts of Mexico, but 
principally in the States of Oaxaca, Vera Cruz, Mexico, 
Puebla, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and Sonora. Anthracite 
of good quality is mined in the latter State,* and a fair qual- 
ity of it is worked in the northern parts of Tamaulipas and 
Nuevo Leon. Some of this coal is burned in the engines 
of the Mexican National Railway. Lignite or brown coal 
occurs in many localities, but it is not used to any extent. 
We have stated elsewhere, f that coal is imported in large 
quantities, owing to the scarcity of fuel near the lines of 
the railroads. It may be added that an extensive mine of 
coal would be of more value to Mexico at present than one 
of gold. 

As regards the cost and methods of mining in Mexico, 
it may be remarked, that the art has not yet attained the 
high degree of perfection known in Europe and the United 
States. Humboldt stated in 1803, that subterranean geom- 
etry was mostly unknown, and that, as a rule, the means 
of communication between contiguous mines were badly 
arranged. Millions have been expended in developing the 
mineral wealth of Guanajuato and Zacatecas. It is said 
that the Count de Valenciana dug three pits in a single 
mine near the former city, at the cost of $1,700,000 {vide 
p. 26G). 

Owing to the low price of labor and the very econom- 
ical methods of the natives, more can be accomplished 
for a given amount of money at present, by working the 
metallic mines on the old Mexican plan, than by the 
modern and improved system, ( Vide chapter on labor and 
wages. ) 

Thus far, few shafts have been sunk to a greater depth 
than one thousand feet. Steam-hoisting works, pumps, 
and tramways in the various levels of the mines are rarely 

* See Section X in Part Second. 
^ f In Section II of Part Second. 



80 



QENEBAL INFORMATION. 



used. Malacates, or large liorse-whims, are substituted for 
the former ; and water is raised in large skins attached 
to ropes. The peons carry pieces of ore weighing from 
one hundred to two hundred pounds on their backs from 
the 'Pleadings" of the levels to the main shaft, where the 
mineral is hoisted in huge baskets. 




Longitudinal View of Timbered, Level. 



Iron drills of domestic manufacture and tipped with 
steel are still used by the peons. A few foreigners are em- 
ployed at high wages in the mines of Chihuahua and the 
neighboring States, and also at the town of Pachuca, but 
they generally occupy positions like that of superintendent 
or engineer. American mine-owners in Mexico admit that 
the '^jackass" mode of mining of the natives is cheaper 
than the European methods. 

The Mexican miners are not much annoyed by heat nor 
by water. Humboldt found the temperature at the bottom 
of the Valenciana mine, then 1,681 feet deep, to be 93° 
Fahr. The miners descend in the shafts, either by means 



MINES. 81 

of massive stone steps that have been used for ages, as in 
Guanajuato, or on a series of ladders, as at Zacatecas. 

Peons pick the ore over by hand at the surface and sep- 
arate the gangue with small hammers. The ore is then 
carried to the reducing-mills on mule-back. 

Most of the mines and mills are inclosed by high walls, 
and the peons are searched before being allowed to leave. 
It is very common to conceal valuable fragments of gold or 
silver-bearing rock in the clothing, or in the hair, or under 
the arms, of the miners. (See chapter on Guanajuato in 
Section V.) The argentiferous ores of Mexico have been 
worked by the patio, or cold amalgamation process, for 
about three centuries. Mule-power is used almost entirely 
in the haciendas de beneficios or reducing-mills.* {Vide 
chapter on Guanajuato, in Section V, Part Second, for a 
description of the 2Mtio process.) 

Mines in Mexico belong to individuals and not to the 
Government. If abandoned, however, they revert to the 
State. In order to hold a mine, the owner is required to 
work it during four months of the year. Should the pro- 
prietor neglect to observe this law, the property is ''de- 
nounced," or claimed by the informer, and is soon adver- 
tised for sale. Sometimes valuable mines can be purchased 
for a mere song at a Government sale. 

Foreis:ners intending to invest in Mexican mines should 
employ a competent mining engineer to examine them, and 
should also exercise extreme caution in dealing with the 
owners, as Mexicans will not dispose of mining property 
unless they can make a very good bargain. At present very 
few mines in Mexico are paying dividends. 

In closing this chapter, it may be said that, if the tour- 
ist desires to visit the mines of the Eepublic, he will be 
treated with great courtesy by the superintendents and 

* One steam-mill with improved machinery has been erected at Guana- 
juato. 



82 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

miners generally. The morning is the best time to go 
underground. 

For the convenience of trayelers, we give a brief list of 
mining terms : 

Socahon, gallery or main adit ; tiro, shaft ; malacate, 
horse-whim ; escalas, ladders ; pena or piedra, rock ; guija, 
quartz ; veta, vein ; mineral, ore ; ancho, wide ; angosta, 
narrow ; oro, gold ; plata, silver ; cohre, copper ; Merro, 
iron ; azogue, quicksilver ; plomo, lead ; estano, tin ; azulfre, 
sulphur ; caliza, limestone ; Ironce, pyrites. 

What kind of rock is it ? Como se llama esa piedra 9 
How wide is the vein ? Que ancliura tiene la veta f Ten 
inches wide. Diez pulgadas de ancho. How deep is the 
shaft ? Que profundidad tiene el tiro f I wish to see this 
mine. Quiero ver el interior de esta mina. Can I enter ? 
Puedo yo entrar ? 

Thanks, gracias. 

For further information on the metallic resources of 
Mexico, consult Humboldt's work on JSfeio Spain, vol. iii 
especially ; Ward's Mexico ; Whitney's Metallic Wealth of 
the U?iited States ; and Busto's Estadistica de la Repuhlica 
Mexicana. 



XXV. 

Mineral Springs. 

MiNEKAL springs abound on the table-land of Mexico. 
Perhaps the best-known springs are at the city of Aguas- 
calientes, where a large bathing establishment has been 
erected. Ojos calientes, or hot springs, are found in many 
places, not only in the vicinity of the volcanoes, but at 
great distances from them. These places are not as yet 
used extensively as resorts for invalids, but it is believed 
that they will be visited for this purpose when rendered 
accessible by railroads. 



GEOLOGY. 83 

XXVI. 
Geology. 

This chapter may be read in connection with that on 
mines. Much has been written by Europeans and Ameri- 
cans on the geology of Mexico. But, interesting as the 
subject is, we have only space for an outline of the for- 
mation and physical structure of the country. A large 
part of Mexico is overlaid by igneous rocks, which consist 
chiefly of trachyte, feldspar - porphyry, and amygdaloidal 
basalt. 

In the Sierra Madre, the metamorphic rocks, such as 
granite, gneiss, and clay-slate, are common. The great 
argentiferous veins frequently occur in the latter rock, al- 
though sometimes in porphyry, e. g., at Keal del Monte, or 
in talcose slate, e. g., some mines at Guanajuato. 

Limestone is found at Tasco and Orizaba. It is ex- 
tensively quarried at the latter town. The same rock 
constitutes the greater part of the eastern branch of the 
Cordillera between San Luis Potosi and Monterey. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Wislizenus, the limestone at Saltillo be- 
longs to the Silurian age. The lower part of the tierra 
caliente consists mostly of alluvial soil, although in a few 
places rocky ridges extend to the coast, e. g., at Aca- 
jDulco. 

We have referred to the localities of the ores of the 
principal metals and of coal in the chapter on mines. 
Deposits of nitre, kaolin, common salt, and Glauber's salt, 
or suljDhate of soda, are abundant on the table-land. Petro- 
leum occurs plenteously in the States of Vera Cruz, Puebla, 
Tabasco, and Oaxaca. Sulphur is found at the volcanoes, 
especially those of Popocatepetl and Orizaba. A large sup- 
ply is now obtained from the former. 

It is said that Cortes's warriors descended into the crater 



84 GENERAL INFORMATION. 



I 



of Popocatepetl to procure sulphur for the manufacture of 
gunpowder. The abundance of hot springs on the Mexi- 
can plateau has already been mentioned (see p. 82). 

The volcanoes are perhaps the most interesting features 
in the geology of Mexico to travelers. There are four 
active * volcanoes in the Eepublic ; but no eruption has 
occurred in any of them during the jDresent century. Earth- 





Tlie Peah of Orizaba 

quakes are common in the vicinity, however, and solfataras, 
fumaroUs emitting hot aqueous vapor, and adjoining warm 
springs, indicate that these volcanoes are still in a semi- 
active state. 

Beginning on the western coast, the Mexican volcanoes 
are : Colima, Jorullo, Popocatepetl, Iztacciliuatl, Orizaba, 
and Tuxtla. The heights of these mountains are given in 
Part Second. 

Humboldt, who was the first scientific observer to make 
an extensive geological reconnaissance of Mexico, has re- 

* By the term " active " we mean those volcanoes in which an eruption 
has taken place within the memory of man. 



GEOLOGY. 85 

marked that the Yolcanoes just named lie on the same great 
vent of the earth's crust, and approximately on the nine- 
teenth parallel of north latitude {vide Cosmos, vol. v, p. 
377, et seq.). 

The most important geological event in Mexico since 
the SjDanish Conquest is the elevation of the volcano of 
Jorullo, which took j^lace in the year 1759 (see Section IV, 
in Part Second, for a long account of it). The description 
of Jorullo explains, in a general way, the manner in which 
volcanic mountains are formed. 

There are still many parts of the Mexican Eej)ublic 
where the hammer of the geologist has not yet sounded, 
because scientists have thus far confined their observations 
chiefly to the vicinity of the metallic deposits and the vol- 
canoes. A great variety of minerals and precious stones is 
found in Mexico. Senor Busto states that the number of 
mineral species is three hundred and sixty-five, the majority 
of which occur as ores. 

We have not sufficient space in this volume to give the 
complete list, but among the gems of the country we may 
mention the ruby, diamond, opal, topaz, emerald, garnet, 
agate, carnelian, and tecali, or so-called Mexican onyx, which 
is a variegated calcite. 

For further information on the geology of Mexico, the 
reader is referred to Humboldt's Cosmos and Neio Spain ; 
Busto's Estadistica de la Repuhlica Mexicana ; Burkart's 
Aufenthalt und Reisen in Mexico in den Jahren 1825- 
1834 ; Wislizeuus, Memoir of a Tour to Northern Mexico; 
and various articles in the American Journal of Science 
and Arts, in the Annates des Mines, in Poggeyidorff's An- 
nalen, and several other French and German scientific peri- 
odicals. 



86 GENERAL INFORMATION. 



1 



XXVII. 
Zoology. 

OwiKG to the yariety of climate of the three zones of 
Mexico, ihQ fauna of each one differs greatly. 

Among the animals indigenous to the country, large 
mammals are very rare. The most common species are the 
black bear, or oso ; the deer, or venado ; the Mexican wolf,, 
or coyote ; the marten, or camomiotte j the otter, or nut7'ia ; 
the squirrel, or urion j the porcupine, or Jioitzlacuatzin ; the 
skunk, or gatomontes (of which there are four varieties) ; 
and two kinds of the hare, or liehres. One of these was 
called the jachass-rabhit by the United States troops dur- 
ing the Mexican War. 

Several other rodents, the armadillo, the shrew-mole, or 
topo, and the opossum, or zorra mocTiilera, also abound. 

Besides the domestic fowls, two hundred kinds of birds, 
including eagles, hawks, ravens, wild turkeys, and buzzards, 
are found in the Eepublic. 

Eeptiles are comparatively scarce on the table-land, but 
are abundant in the tierra templada and tierra caliente. 
Turtles {tortugas de mar) are common in the Gulf of 
Mexico, the cTielonia imhricata, which furnishes the well- 
known tortoise-shell of commerce, occurring near the east- 
ern coast. 

Alligators {lagartos) live in the swamps of the southern 
States. 

Lizards {lagartijas) are plentiful in the hot zone. The 
iguana {Lacerta iguana, Linnaeus) sometimes grows to a 
length of three feet. Another sjDecies of lizard, known as 
the alcatelepon, being about fifteen inches long, and having 
a rough gray skin, is found in the country. Its bite is 
painful, though not dangerous. 

Snakes (serpientes) occur in the various zones, but prin- 



ZOOLOGY. 



87 



cipally in the tierra caliente. Poisonous serpents are un- 
known at an elevation above seven thousand feet. Both 
land and fresh-water snakes exist in Mexico. The most 

common species are the rat- 
tlesnake, or cascahel ; the 
darting-snake, or saltillo ; 
the black-snake, ovculebra; 
and the centoatl, whose skin 
shines in the dark. 

Among the sirens, the 
siredon, or axolotl, having 
a length of ten to fifteen 
inches, is found in the 
Lake of Texcoco, and in 
lagoons of the adjoining 
mountains. During the 
war of the Conquest, the 
axolotl was so plentiful that 
Cortes is said to have fed 
his army upon it. 

The many fresh-water 
lakes of Mexico are well 
stocked with fish (pescado), 
the principal kinds being 
the bass, eel, trout, white- 
fish, and hagre. The flesh 
of the latter is delicious and 
is extensively used for food. 
The waters along the coast 
of the Kepublic likewise af- 
ford a great variety. 
The red mullet, or mujol, is a favorite article of food among 
the Mexicans. It was this kind of fish that was carried by 
swift-footed couriers from Vera Cruz to the ancient capital, 
a distance of two hundred miles, for Montezumai's table. 




88 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



1 



There are infinite numbers of species of insects in the 
country. Many are poisonous, and the bites of others are 
very painful. 

Butterflies {mariposas) and ants (Jiormigas) exist in 
great variety. 

The arriera, or carrying-ant, is very injurious to agri- 
culture. The black and red ant are abundant, and their 




1. Cochineal Insects on branch of Cactus. 2. Female Insect. 3. Male Insect. 

sting produces much pain. There are six kinds of bees 
{ahejas). 

Among the worms may be mentioned the teocuilin, 
which possesses the properties of the cantharides, and the 
temaJiuani, whose bite is venomous. 

Ticks (reznos), mosquitoes (mosquitos), Jiggers {neguas), 
and moniquiles, are common in the tierra caliente. The 
latter burrow under the skin, causing great suffering (see 
p. 156). 

The cochineal, or cocMnilla, is found extensively in Oa- 
xaca. Fleas {pulgas) are plentiful throughout the country. 



BOTANY. 89 

The silk-worm {gusano de seda) is raised in the south- 
ern States. 

Among the arach7iida of Mexico are the scorpion {es- 
corpio7i or cdacran) and tarantula, which are found in all 
the zones. 

The centipede {escolopendra or cientopies) occasionally 
grows to a length of eighteen inches, and is abundant in 
the tierra templada and tierra caliente. 

In the sub-kingdom of mollusca, we will mention only 
the pearl-oyster, which occurs on the Pacific coast. The 
pearl (perla) fishery at La Paz, in Lower California, is 
of some importance. The fauna of Mexico has not thus 
far been fully described. 



XXVIII. 
Botany. 

The flora of Mexico consists of an infinite variety of 
species, on account of the configuration of the country. 
There is, perhaps, not a single plant known to science that 
can not be grown in the Republic. 

The three zones have each a different flora, which may 
be described as follows : 

In the tierra caliente, the plants consist mostly of tropi- 
cal fruits, cocoa-palms, d3"e-woods, sugar-cane, indigo, and 
cotton. 

In the tierra templada, there are bamboo and camphor- 
trees, oaks, cypresses, coffee, tobacco, and the cereals. 

In the tierra fria, are found deciduous trees, and coni- 
fera like the pine, spruce, cedar, and fir, and the various 
species of cactus. 

Wheat and a few vegetables also grow in the latter 
region. 

Much logwood and Brazil-wood are found in the States 



90 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



■ 



of Tabasco,* Chiapas, and Campeche ; and in Sinaloa, ma- 
hogany, rose- wood, and ebony are abundant. 

There are extensive forests in the States of Sonora, Chi- 
huahua, Durango, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Michoacan, and Chiapas, 
and in the neighborhood of the volcanoes of Popocatepetl 
and Orizaba. We have referred elsewhere to the forests 
that once existed in the valley of Mexico {vide Section III 
of Part Second). 

During the winter season the deciduous trees on the 




Indigo Plant {Anil). 



table-land shed their leaves, which are replaced by a new 
growth within a few weeks. 

There is a great variety of fruits in the tierra caliente, 
among which are many species which are rarely seen m 
temperate climates, such as the granadita, mmm^ and 
chirimoya. 

* The ek, caoba, acum, evano, cliimay, chulul, copal, and other woods 
grow in the States of Tabasco and Chiapas. 



AGRICULTURE. 



91 



The most abundant fruits are oranges, limes, bananas, 
and pineapples. 

Flowers are cheap and plentiful at all seasons. Some 
species bloom on the great plateau. Dahlias and roses are 
most common in the parks 
and gardens of the cities. 

The country possesses many 
other beautiful flowering plants 
that are known only to Euro- 
peans in the botanic gardens, 
such as the clavel, jloripondio, 
and azucena. 

We may sum uj) the flora 
of Mexico as follows : There 
are fifty-six kinds of building- 
woods and twenty-one kinds 
of " cabinet "-wood ; four va- 
rieties of gum and three of 
resin ; twelve kinds of forage ; 
one hundred species of odor- 
iferous flowers, and fifty- two 
of cereals and vegetables ; eighty-seven kinds of fruit, and 
one hundred and thirteen species of medicinal plants. 

There are in all ten thousand known families of plants, 
many of which are of no economical importance. The prin- 
cipal trees and shrubs of the country are referred to in the 
itineraries of Part Second. 




Brazil- Wood — Leaves, Flower, 
and Fruit. 



XXIX. 

Agriculture. 

AccoRDiJSTG to Prescott,* agriculture in the Aztec Em- 
pire was in the same state of advancement as the other arts 

* Conquest of Mexico, vol. i, p. 134. 



92 



GENERAL INFORMATION: 



1 



of social life. In the natural openings of the primeval 
forest, or in a fertile strip of interval, the Aztecs planted 
beans and Indian corn. 

All, except the nobles and soldiery, cultivated the soil, 
the work being done chiefly by the men. 

The more important branches of husbandry were the 
culture of the banana, which was easily grown and gave 
exuberant returns ; the production of chocolatl from the 
cocoa-palm ; the cultivation of the vanilla, which was con- 
fined to a small strip of the 
sea-coast; and the plant- 
ing of maize and the ma- 
guey. Prescott calls the 
latter ''a miracle of na- 
ture," on account of the 
large number of articles 
that are made from it. 
The Aztecs pressed the 
stalks of Indian corn to 
obtain the sap for sugar. 
There is no evidence that 
the tillage of the country 
was materially improved 
by the Spanish Conquest. 
Nevertheless, it must 
be admitted that agricul- 
ture is still in its infancy in the various parts of Mexico. 
This is due to the persistency of the peons in making use of 
the rude implements of their forefathers. Fortunately, an 
easily worked and fertile soil generally exists in the Eepub- 
lic. Frost occurs only on the table-land, and is rare in 
many portions of it. All kinds of cereals, vegetables, and 
fruits are cultivated in the country, but the absence of 
facilities for cheap transportation in some of the States is 
a great drawback. 




The Vanilla Plant, 



\ 



AGRICULTURE. 



93 



The products of the three geographical divisions of 
Mexico may be briefly stated as follows : In the hot region, 
cotton, vanilla, indigo, rice, hemp, sarsajDarilla, peppers, 
bene-seed, anise-seed, caoutchouc, cocoa, cassia, oranges. 




India-rubher Plant (Hide). 

bananas, and other tropical fruits grow to perfection. Sev- 
eral of these plants thrive without tillage. In the temper- 
ate region, coffee, sugar, tobacco, cotton, brown beans,* 
peas, and a few other vegetables, and the fruits of north- 
ern latitudes are cultivated. In the cold region, the cereals, 
the maguey, or aloe, and the hardy vegetables, as potatoes, 
carrots, beans, etc., are found. ( Vide chapter on botany.) 

Wheat f grows at as high an elevation as 8,500 feet in 
the latitude of the capital ; and maize and the maguey may 
be cultivated at nearly the same altitude. 

The crops in Mexico are dependent partly upon rain- 

* Brown beans, maize, and pepper grow in all the States. 
f Wheat grows in all but five States. 



94: GENERAL INFORMATION. 

fall and partly upon irrigation. North, of the twentieth ■ 
parallel, irrigation is necessary on the table-land. In the 
southern States the rains are generally limited to one con- 
tinuous season, which varies from five to seven months in 
the year. As in other tropical latitudes, a deluging rain 
oftentimes does more harm than good to the growing crops. 

Eeferring to this important subject, Humboldt has re- 
marked in his work on New Spain, vol. ii, page 455 : 
" Were the soil of Mexico watered by more frequent rains, 
it would be one of the most fertile countries cultivated 
by man in either hemisphere." The prosperity of New 
Spain depends upon the proportion of dry and wet season. 
The farmer, of course, takes advantage of the rainy sea- 
son, and in the northern and central States he sows in 
May and reaps in October. Two crops of wheat and In- , 
dian corn are grown annually in various sections of the 
tierra templada and on the central table-land. The sec- 
ond crop is, however, sometimes destroyed by a premature 
frost. In the States of Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero, 
Tabasco, Mexico, and Jalisco, three crops of maize are cul- 
tivated in a single year ! They are called respectively the 
riego, temporal, and tonalmile. 

As irrigation {riego) is necessary for more than one half 
of the surface of the country, let us now consider this sub- 
ject. In the Aztec Empire acequias, or irrigating ditches, 
were used. The Spaniards were agreeably surprised to find 
a system equal to that which the Moors had established in 
the Iberian Peninsula. The plan of watering the soil by 
artificial channels, however, is at present limited to a com- 
paratively small portion of the arable land in the country. 
In order to increase the annual yield of grain and vege- 
tables, the Mexicans should adopt the system of tanks 
which has been in use so long in British India. 

Water-companies should be organized for this purpose, 
and the huge ravines, or barrancas, of the sierra should be 



AGRICULTURE. 95 

dammed up for the storage of an abundant supply of water 
for seasons of drought. 

The soil of Mexico might be caused to yield a hundred- 
fold more grain than is now produced, and the Republic 
eventually enabled to compete with the States of California 
and Oregon in exporting the cereals to Europe,* Grain 
has recently (1883) been sent from California to New Or- 
leans, La., via the Southern Pacific Eailroad. The cereals 
of Northern Mexico might be transported to the sea-board 
by the same route. This subject is worthy of the attention 
of foreign capitalists. 

As regards the amount of cereals cultivated within a 
given area in Mexico, it may be remarked that the propor- 
tion of grain to seed varies from forty to one to three hun- 
dred to one. An average yield would be about one hun- 
dred and fifty to one. In very fertile land one fanega 
(about three bushels) of seed will produce four hundred 
fanegas of maize. Humboldt has remarked that the finest 
soil on the plateau is to be found in the rich plains lying 
between the cities of San Juan del Rio and Leon. 

It is not usual in Mexico to estimate a crop of grain by 
the number of bushels to the acre. In response to inquiries 
made in various States, the author was told that the yield 
of maize varied from twenty to forty bushels to an acre. 
The highest production is seventy bushels. No figures as 
to the proportionate amount of wheat and barley yielded 
could be obtained. Next to the cereals, the great staple 

* Notwithstanding her immense mineral resources, California has since 
1876, with the aid of improved agricultural implements and acequias, yielded 
more in agricultural products than from her mines. This State resembles 
Mexico in soil and in outline. According to Senor M. Romero, more wheat 
can be cultivated in Sonera than in California. And it may be added that 
the same remark will apply to the Mexican States bordering on the Pacific 
Ocean, as well as to those of Guanajuato, Queretaro, Hidalgo, Mexico, More- 
los, and Puebla. Indian corn, barley, and brown beans are also grown 
extensively in several of these States. 



96 



GENERAL INFORM ATI OK 



products of Mexico are coffee, sugar, tobacco, cocoa, and 
cotton. All except the last-named are exported. 

Coffee {cafe) was introduced into the West Indies about 
the year 1714, and was thence advanced to New SjDain at 
the beginning of the present century. It grows best in the 
temperate zone, and in the shade of the forest. It is now 
cultivated in eight States — viz.. Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Chia- 
pas, Tabasco, Guerrero, Colima, Michoacan, and Morelos. 
The State of Vera Cruz yields the largest quantity. Co- 





U V 






T7ie Coffee Plant. 



V 



lima ranks next, and produces the finest variety of the article. 
It rivals the choicest Mocha brand. There is a great demand 
in foreign countries for Mexican coffee ; and doubtless the 
annual production will soon be doubled if not quadrupled. 
Sugar-cane {cafia de azucar) is grown extensively in all 
but seven States of the Eepublic. The greatest amount of 
sugar comes from Morelos, and the State of Vera Cruz 
ranks second. Irrigation is necessary for its successful cul- 
tivation in some States. Sugar-cane grows both in the 



AGRICULTURE. 97 

tierra caliente and tierra templada up to an elevation of 
6,000 feet. In the latter, eighteen months are required 
for the crop to mature, while in the former the time varies 
from nine to twelve months. The sugar-cane of Mexico is 
of three kinds — viz., those of Castile, Havana, and Otaite. 

At the time of Humboldt's visit,* about 14,000,000 
pounds of sugar were exported annually. In 1881 the 
amount did not exceed 500,000 pounds. 

Tobacco is indigenous to Mexico. Indeed, it derives its 
name from the town of Tobaco in Yucatan. The culture 
of it was formerly restricted by law to the vicinity of Ori- 
zaba, f At present it grows chiefly in the States of Vera 
Cruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, and 
Jalisco. ( Vide chapter on cigars and tobacco. ) 

Cocoa {cacao) is found in the States of Tabasco, Chiapas, 
Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Colima. The first-named State pro- 
duces the largest amount, the culture of cocoa being the 
principal branch of its agricultural industry. Chiapas 
ranks second, and but little of this article grows in the 
remainder of the Eepublic. 

Cotton {algodon) is cultivated in about half the States. 
Vera Cruz produces the largest quantities, and Durango 
ranks next. The finest cotton comes from the Pacific coast 
States and from Vera Cruz. It is also grown extensively in 
the vicinity of the lagoon of Tlahualila (which is familiarly 
called the "laguna country"), and in Southern Chihuahua. 
According to Senor Busto, an acre of land will yield about 
2,000 pounds of cotton as an average. J It thrives up to an 
elevation of five thousand feet. 

In 1803 the annual exportation of cotton amounted to 

* 1803. 

\ lu 1800 two million pounds of tobacco grew in the districts of Ori- 
za.ba and Cordoba. 

X In the southern part of the United States, 950 pounds of cotton to 
the acre is a fair average. 



98 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



700,000 pounds. At present it is not exported, nor is it cul- 
tivated in quite sufficient quantities for home consumption. 
In 1806 Mexican cotton-seeds were introduced into Mis- 
sissippi by Walter Burling, Esq., and are supposed to have 
improved the character of the staple thus grown. 




Cocoanut Palm. 

Vanilla is produced in the States of Vera Cruz and 
Oaxaca. According to Humboldt, Europe received its en- 
tire supply of this commodity from Mexico previous to 1812. 

Bananas grow luxuriantly in the tierra caliente, and the 
maguey, or aloe, is cultivated extensively on the table-land. 
It is said that a plantation of the latter pays better as an 
investment than any other kind of crop in Mexico. The 
maguey will grow in a soil that is almost barren. It ma- 
tures in eight years in the States of Puebla and Mexico ; 
and in San Luis Potosi it becomes ripe in five years. This 
plant will not blossom in northern climes.* 

* There is a popular belief that the maguey in temperate latitudes will 
reach maturity once in a hundred years. Hence the name " century-plant." 



AGRICULTURE. 99 

With the improved processes of tillage, including the 
use of modern implements, extensive tanks and irrigating 
ditches, all of which are likely to be introduced at an early 
day, the stajDle products of Mexico will of course be in- 
creased many fold. 

The culture of sugar and tobacco is, and will doubtless 
continue to be, more profitable than that of the cereals. 
The cultivation of the tropical and semi-tropical fruits 
will also be carried on far more extensively than at present 
throughout the tierra caliente, and in the lower parts of 
the tierra templada. 

A recent correspondent of the Chicago Tribune describes 
the Mexican farmer as follows : *' On the ranch or vil- 
lage home of the 'greaser' Mexican everything bears the 
stamp of negligence and shiftlessness. Their gaunt, sharp- 
nosed, long-legged, and tan-colored hogs share with their 
owners in the comforts of the family residence. No fences 
except brush surround their fields. Generally there are 
none. They raise just sufficient wheat, barley, beans, and 
chili (red peppers) to meet their absolute needs. They 
thrash their crops upon bare, smooth ground by driving 
flocks of goats over them and washing in the nearest 
stream. They often plow with a crooked stick, and the 
hoe is their scythe, sickle, and reaper. Even their hay is 
cut with a hoe. They as a rule live in villages and culti- 
vate small fields upon their outskirts. Living as they do, 
and possessing a soil which under irrigation is wonderfully 
productive, they require but little ground to cultivate." 

Agricultural implements are admitted free of duty 
{vide p. 57). American reapers, mowers, plows, etc., have 
been introduced on the ranches of the northern and central 
part of the table-land. Time will, however, be required to 
induce the peons to abandon their rude ancestral tools that 
simply scratch the ground. Labor is abundant at three reales 
(37-^ cents) a day. It is hardly necessary to remark that 



100 



GEIJEEAL INFORMATION. 



the land will be best developed by the immigration of 
skilled farmers from Europe and the United States, 

The following table, copied from Btisto's Estadistica de 
la Rep'&Uica Mexicana, gives a list of the agricultural pro- 
ductions of the Republic. It will be seen that the propor- 
tion of maize is about four fifths of the total product, while 
that of wheat is but one twentieth. Oats are rarely culti- 
vated, and rye but sparingly.* 



PEODUCTS. 



Chickling vetch (a kind of pea). 

Cotton 

Bene-seed 

Canary-seed 

Anise-seed 

Indigo 

Rice 

Sugar and molasses 

Cocoa 

Coffee 

Barley 

Cumin-seeds 

Peppers of all kinds 

Brown beans (frijoles) 

Peas 

Beans 

Hemp 

Ixtle (a kind of hemp) 

Lentils .... 

Maize (Indian corn) 

Potatoes 

Straw 

Tobacco 

Wheat 

Vanilla 

Sarsaparilla 



Total 14,452,954,'78Y 



Pounds. 



11 



2'7,831,012 

65,391,072 

6,710,308 

2,467,025 

2,477,090 

422,941 

33,366,493 

154,199,210 

3,174,605 

17,514,877 

611,134,850 

225,141 

119,0 1,908 

508,656.233 

25,277,928 

34,589,634 

88,176,000 

4,910,158 

4,625,775 

,681,140,666 

23,227,024 

431,740,320 

16,510,980 

747,349,004 

121,248 

1,073,648 



Value in Mexican 
dollars. 



543,283 
6,605,831 

153,643 
57,410 

127,268 

358,002 
1,248,244 
8,761,317 
1,140,050 
2,060,382 
4,403,742 
23,500 
4,196,482 
8,406,211 

471,075 

477,610 
3,352,000 

154,053 

83,043 

112,164,424 

457,592 

1,962,879 

2,006,15.3 

17,436.345 

651,958 

149,489 

177,451,986 



* Compared with the United States, the annual corn-crop of Mexico is 
one ninth of that of the sister Republic ; the wheat-crop is one forty-first, 
and the cotton-crop is but one forty-fifth. Maize being the principal arti- 
cle of food, the failure of the crop causes great suffering, as the poorer 
classes must then subsist on unripe fruit, berries, and roots. 



MAFS AXJJ SURVEYS. 101 

XXX. 
Maps and Surveys. 

Baeon von Humboldt was the first scientific traveler 
who made extensive astronomical observations and baro- 
metric measurements in Mexico. He determined the lati- 
tude and longitude, and the elevations of various cities and 
towns throughout the country. He also published charts 
and sketch-maps in his immortal work on New Spain. 

No complete topographical survey of Mexico has ever 
been made, and we need not say that it would cost far more 
than the National Government could afford to pay in the 
present state of the finances. 

The best atlas of Mexico has been compiled by Seuor A. 
Garcia Cubas, being entitled El Atlas metodico de la Geo- 
grafia de la Repiiblica Mexicana. 

The Mexican National Railway Company has published 
a large map, and Eand, McNally & Co., of Chicago, and 
Colton, of NeAV York, have issued pocket-maps, of the Re- 
public. 

Several excellent maps have been prepared in France 
and Germany. 

A good topographical map is published by J. L. Smith, 
of Philadelphia, Pa. 

A map of the heart of Mexico, including the mountains 
of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, has been jarinted in New 
York, and is on sale in the shops of the Mexican capital. 

A complete map, on a large scale, will soon be a possi- 
bility, considering the extensive surveys of the various rail- 
roads throughout the country. The boundary-lines of 
the public lands have never been determined, and the lack 
of accurate surveys is sadly felt at the present time. Dur- 
ing the Spanish domination the grants to individuals were 
practically unlimited, as the grantees took possession of 



102 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

immense tracts of land without defining the metes and 
bounds. 

It is to be presumed that the Federal G-overnment will 
authorize a general survey of their public lands at an early 
day. 

xxxr. 

Stock-Raising. 

Sooisr after the Spanish Conquest, horned cattle, horses, 
donkeys, sheep, and hogs were exported in large numbers 
to Mexico from the mother-country. At the present time 
more attention is devoted to rearing horses, mules, and 
cattle than to other animals. The Mexican horse is of 
small statiire, but possesses great endurance, and resembles 
the Arabian breed. The mules in Mexico are inferior in 
size to those of the United States, but are said to be capable 
of doing more work than the latter. Donkeys were intro- 
duced into New Spain by the priesthood, to take the place 
of the porters for carrying merchandise. (See chapter on 
labor and wages.) Cattle and sheep may be raised advan- 
tageously in most of the States of the Republic. The 
northern States, especially Tamaulipas, aSord the best graz- 
ing-land. Several English companies have recently pur- 
chased large stock-ranges in Tamaulipas, Nuevo-Leon, and 
Sonora. 

Excellent pasturage may be found in the valleys of 
Toluca and Orizaba. The former is noted for a superior 
breed of hogs. The greater part of the region that is used 
for grazing lies on the table-land. Most of the arable land 
in the tierra caliente and tierra temjjlada is employed for 
agricultural purposes. The haciendas of El Salado and 
Cedres, in the central part of Mexico, are among the largest 
stock-ranches in the Republic. Artificial ponds and tanks 
for watering animals are common throughout the country. 



WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 103 

Cattle-raising bids fair to become an important industry 
in Nortbern Mexico at an early day. The mildness of the 
winters admits of the stock feeding on the pastures, and 
there is no danger of losing the herd by a snow-storm. 
The natives are good herdsmen. It may be remarked, 
however, that marauding bands of Indians occasionally 
make raids on the stock-ranches, involving great loss to 
the owners. Eanches are usually sold by the sitio, which 
is equivalent to 4,428 acres. It is said that several large 
cattle-ranches in Northern Mexico are for sale at pres- 
ent. ( Vide next chapter. ) 



XXXII. 
Weights and Measures. 

The French metric system of weights and measures has 
been adopted in the Eepublic of Mexico, but in the rural 
districts the inhabitants have not done away with the old 
system (although it is no longer the legal one), of which 
we give a sketch. 

MEXICAN" LAISTD-MEASUKES. 
(Translated from the Ordenanzas de Tierras y Aguas.) 

The Mexican vara is the same as the vara of Castile, and 
is divided into thirds or foot-fourths, sixths, and thirty- 
sixth inches. It equals 33^ inches, American measure. 

Fifty Mexican varas make a measure called a corclel. 

A Mexican league contains 100 cor dels, or 5,000 varas. 

The league is divided into halves and quarters. The 
half-league contains 2,500 varas. 

Sitio de Ganado Mayor {sitio, a farm for raising cattle). 
— The form of a sitio de estancia de ganado mayor is a 
square whose sides measure 5,000 Mexican varas. The 
area of a sitio is 25,000,000 square varas, or 4,428 acres. 



104 GENERAL INFOEMATION. 

Criadero de Ganado Mayor (place for breeding animals). 
— It is a square equal to a fourth part of a sitio de ganado 
mayor, whose sides measure 2,500 varas, and contains an 
area of 6,250,000 square varas. 

Sitio de Ganado Menor (farm for raising sheep or goats). 
— The form of a sitio de estancia de ganado menor is a 
square whose sides measure 3,333^ varas. Its area contains 
11,111,111^ square varas. 

Criadero de Ganado Menor. — It is a square whose sides 
measure l,666f varas, and its area contains 2,777,777^ 
square varas. 

Cahalleria de Tierra (33|- acres American measure). — 
The form of a caballeria de tierra is a rectangular parallelo- 
gram whose north or small side contains 552 varas, and 
whose greatest length is 1,104 varas. Its area contains 609,- 
408 square varas. 

Media Cahalleria de Tierra. — It is a square whose side 
measures 552 varas, and contains 304,704 square varas. 

Suerte de Tierra (lot of ground — a chance). — It is the 
fourth part of a cahalleria de tierra, and the same figure, 
whose long side measures 552 varas, and 276 in width. It 
contains 152,352 square varas. 

The Cahalleria de Tierra is also divided into twelve 
fanegas of good seed-oats. The fanega is equal to three 
American bushels or a superficies of 8*5624 American acres. 

Solar de Tierra (ground on which a house is built — 
town-lot). — Any parcel of land less than a suerte. 

Solar para Casas (for houses, mills, and markets). — It 
is a square of 50 varas — 2,500 square varas. 

Fundo Legal (a piece of ground which is cultivated ; 
town site). — It is a tract of land whose form is a square of 
1,200 varas on each side, and contains an area of 1,440,000 
square varas. 

Porcion. — Porcion is a measure sometimes used. It is 
a tract of land 1,000 varas wide and 16,000 varas long. 



WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 105 

Labor (a cultivated field). — A square containing 1,000,- 
000 square varas, or 177 acres. 

Texas Measure. — League and labor, 26,000,000 square 
varas, or 4,605 acres. 

To find the number of acres in a given number of square 
varas, divide by 5,646, fractions rejected. 

THE E]SrGLISH AND FKENCH SYSTEMS OF WEIGHTS AND 
MEASUEES COMPAEED. 

The unit of the metric or French system of weights and 
measures is the metre, which is equal to 39 "37 inches. 

The Measures of Length are : 
1 millimetre = -03937 inch. 







1 centimetre 


= 


•8937 


u 










1 decimetre 


= 


3-937 


inches 










1 metre 


= 


39-37 


u 










1 decametre 


= 


32-809 


feet. 










1 hectometre 


= 


19-8842 


rods. 










1 kilometre 


= 


•6213 


mile. 










1 myriametre 


= 


6-2138 


miles. 










Measures 


of Surface. 








square 


centimetre 




= 


•155 


square 


inch. 




square 


decimetre 




= 


15-5 


square 


inches. 


1 square metre or ) 
1 centare f 




H 


10-764 
1-96 


square 
square 


feet, 
yard. 




square 
are 


decametre or ) 




H 


3-954 
•0247 


square 
acre. 


rods. 




square 


hectometre, or 1 hectare = 


2-471 


acres. 






square 


kilometre 




= 


•3861 


square 


mile. 



Measures of Volume. 

1 cubic centimetre = •OGl cubic inch. 

1 cubic decimetre or ) _ j •OSSS " 

1 litre f ~~ 1 1^0567 liquid quart. 

1 cubic metre, or 1 stere = 353165 cubic feet. 



106 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 



Measures of Capacity. 

The litre is the unit of capacity, both of liquid and of 
dry measures, and is equal in volume to one cubic deci- 
metre. 

Dry measure. 

1 centilitre = "61 cubic inch 

1 decilitre ^^ 6-10 cubic inches 

1 litre = "908 quart 

1 decalitre = 9-081 quarts 

1 hectolitre = 2-837 bushels 

^ ( 28-37 bushels 

1 kilometre, or stere =•< ., „„„ ,. , 

( 1-308 cnbic yard 

1 myrialitre = 283-72 bushels 



Liquid measure. 


•338 


fluid oz. 


•845 


gill. 


1-0567 


quart. 


2-64175 


gallons. 


26-4175 


u 


■■ 264-175 


(( 


2,641-75 


(( 



Measures of Weight. 

The gramme is the unit of weight, and is equal to a 
weight of a cubic centimetre of distilled water. 



1 centigramme 
1 decigramme 

1 gramme 

1 decagramme 
1 hectogramme 
1 kilogramme or 

kilo 
1 myriagramme 
1 quintal 
1 tonneau or 

ton 






-1543+ grain, troy. 
16432+ " 
15-432+ grains, " 

•03527+ ounce, avoirdupois. 
■3527+ " " 

3-5274+ ounces, " 

2-6792 pounds, troy. 
2-2046+ " avoirdupois. 
22-046+ " " 

112 " " 

2204-62+ " " 

1-1023 ton. 



N. B. — Except the table of the metric system, the preceding part of 
this chapter is taken almost vei-batim from Castro's Republic of Mexico. 



WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 



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108 GENERAL INFORMATION. 



XXXIII. 
Labor and Wages. 

Slaveet existed in Mexico before and after the Spanish 
Conquestj, but it was abolished soon after the establishing 
of Mexican Independence. Formerly convicts worked in 
the cotton and woolen factories in company with free la- 
borers ; and Humboldt, in his Political Essay on New 
Spain, has spoken of the injurious effect of this system on 
the latter class. 

Labor is now abundant throughout the Eepublic. In 
some of the larger cities the supply is greater than the 
demand. Skilled labor is rare among the natives, but they 
are capable of learning any trade. European labor has not 
thus far been largely introduced into Mexico. American 
negroes have been imported to a limited extent for the 
purpose of railway-construction. 

The peo7is or day-laborers may be divided principally 
into two great classes, i. e., those engaging in mining, and 
those who are employed on farms and ranches. The former 
class are much better workmen than the latter. They are 
not migratory in their habits, and will often remain in one 
mining district for a lifetime. The miners and millers 
work about seven hours daily. They are usually peaceable, 
and receive better wages than the agricultural peons. The 
latter are, as a rule, lazy and indolent. In the tier r a fria 
and tier r a templada they work from daylight to sunset, 
with a siesta at noon, while in the tierra caUente the hours 
of labor are from 5 to 11 a. m., and from 3 to 6 p. m. 
Women do not generally work in the fields. 

A third class of workmen is employed in the factories 
and hotels, and by the railways. Male and female opera- 
tives obtain employment in the former. 

A considerable number of the Indian population act 



LABOR AND WAGES. 



109 



as public porters on the highways. Men and women en- 
gage in this occupation, and they use alpen-stocks while 
walking. An ordinary porter will carry a load of one 




hundred and fifty pounds for a distance of twenty miles 
daily. All kinds of merchandise are transported on the 
backs of porters.* 

During the eighteenth century the Spanish priests are 
said to have imported donkeys or hurros in large num- 

* The author saw an Indian carrying a large sofa on the road from the 
City of Mexico to Cuernavaca. It was fastened to his body by means of 
ropes and straps passing across his breast and forehead, and extending 
under his arms. 



110 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

bers to take the place of porters in carrying burdens (see 
p. 102). 

The laboring classes of Mexico are exceedingly jealous 
of the introduction of labor-saving machinery. They re- 
gard it as an unwarranted means of preventing them from 
earning a living. Two recent events will serve to illustrate 
the antagonism of the peons to modern improvements. 

Soon after the adoption of the compressed air-brake 
on the railroads of the United States, the Mexican Eailway 
Company discharged several of their brakemen and intro- 
duced this improved brake on their trains. The company's 
servants rebelled against this system, and stole the stop- 
cocks from the air-pipes, thereby compelling their em- 
ployers to reinstate them.* 

Eecently the owner of a large hacienda purchased an 
outfit of American agricultural implements. His peons saw 
in them an unjustifiable interference with their own meth- 
ods of farming, and in the course of a few weeks the enlight- 
ened hacendado discovered to his surprise that his stock of 
instruments had been destroyed. These facts are significant, 
but fortunately the intense feeling against new inventions 
and improved machines is confined to the lower classes, f 

The following table of wages will be found useful for 
reference. It is taken from Consul-General Strother's an- 
nual report for 1883, the figures being approximately stated : 

Carpenters, per day $1 00 to $1 50 

Blacksmiths, per day 1 00 to 2 50 

Upholsterers, per day 75 to 1 25 

Shoemakers, per day 75 to 1 50 

Book-binders, per day 75 to 1 00 

* These facts were related to the author by a station-master of the 
Mexican Central Railroad Company. 

f In constructing railroads, the contractors introduced the wheelbarrow 
among the peons. They carried it on their heads when filled with earth, 
and it was found that more work could be done with the gunny-bag held 
on the shoulders. 



LABOR AND WAGES. HI 

Turners, per day | 75 to $1 00 

Farriers, locksmiths, silversmiths (generally in- 
cluded in blacksmithing), per day 75 

Tinners, per day 75 

Plumbers and gas-fitters, per day 75 

Pattern-makers, molders (in foundries are paid 

by the piece), gilders, per day 75 

Coach-makers, per day 1 50 

Harness-makers and saddlers, per day 75 

Stone-masons, stone-cutters, brick-layers (all un- 
der the same heading), per day 75 

House-painters, per day 75 

Quarry-men (paid by the piece), common laborers 

(peons), per day 37J 

Porters, or cargadores, a course, per day 12|- 

Plasterers, plain and ornamental (per day) 1 25 

Tailors (equivalent to per diem) 1 00 

Hatters (equivalent to per diem) 87|- 

Cigar-makers (chiefly women), per diem 50 

Seamstresses (per diem) 37-^ 

Cotton spinners and weavers, woolen spinners 
and weavers (paid by the piece, equivalent 

to per diem) 1 00 

Factory-liands (per day) 50 

Engine-drivers (per day) 1 00 

Stokers (per day) 873 

Eailway conductors (per day) 1 00 

Machinists (per day) 1 00 

Printers (equivalent to per diem) 1 00 

In the trades and occupations which may hare been 
omitted in the above list, the current wages of journey- 
men will be found to vary but little from the average 
given. Skilled workmen from abroad are now frequently 
imported at conventional prices much higher than the 
foregoing. 

N. B. — Foreigners intending to employ native laborers 
are strongly advised to put them under the control of a 



to 


1 00 


to 


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to 


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to 


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to 


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to 


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to 


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to 


75 


to 


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to 


1 50 


to 


1 75 


to 


2 00 



112 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

''boss" wlio speaks the Spanish language, and who is 
familiar with their methods of work. The peons are amia- 
ble, and will generally give satisfaction with proper man- 
agement ; but they are exceedingly vindictive, and, if 
maltreated, will take vengeance on their oppressors at the 
first opportunity. 



I 



XXXIV. 
"Wines and Liquors. 

According to Prescott, the Aztecs manufactured 
pulque, and were in the habit of becoming intoxicated by 
its use. This is the case with their posterity, the Mexicans 
of the present day. The great national beverages are the 
various kinds of pulque, mescal, or tequila, and aguardiente, 
or brandy. 

Pulque is the fermented sap of the maguey plant 
{Agave Americana), which is extracted from the heart 
as follows : 

The stem of the plant is cut short, and a deep incision 
is made into the heart of it. After removing the surround- 
ing leaves, the stalk is hollowed for several inches. The 
sap is gathered from this cavity two or three times daily, 
by means of an acocote. This instrument acts like a pi- 
pette. It consists of a long gourd, to each end of which a 
piece of sharp horn is attached. The peon inserts one end 
into the liquid, and, placing the other in his mouth, ex- 
tracts the sap by suction into the body of the gourd. The 
Juice is emptied into a jar or skin, which is carried on the 
back, and then it is taken to the cellar and allowed to fer- 
ment. A single plant of maguey will generally yield eight 
cuartillos, or one gallon, of sap in a day. The Juice when 
extracted is termed agua miel, or honey-water. 



WINES AND LIQUORS. 



113 



Pulque is of a milk-white appearance, and resembles 
beer slightly in taste. 

Mescal is also prepared from the maguey. The leaves are 
pressed in a mill, and the juice that runs out is distilled. 
Tequila is similar in taste. It is distilled from a small spe- 



' . A 



^^x\)Mm\m 




Pulque TlacTiiquero. 

cies of maguey called the zotol, which grows largely in Ja- 
lisco, especially near the town of Tequila, whence its name. 
Both mescal and tequila are transparent liquids. 

Aguardiente is distilled chiefly from sugar-cane Juice, 
but it is sometimes made from the juice of the grape. Be- 



114 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

sides these liquors, there are numerous others that the 
stranger rarely hears of except in the rural districts, such 
as cliarape, cMcha, joho, peyote, tecum, tepache, tuba, 
etc. 

Pulque is made principally in the States of Mexico, Hi- 
dalgo, and Tlaxcala. The center of population being in 
this part of Mexico, accounts for the immense cultivation 
of the maguey in these adjoining States. 

Mescal comes for the most part from Jalisco, Sinaloa, 
Puebla, Hidalgo, and Michoacan. Aguardiente is made 
chiefly in the sugar-growing States of Vera Cruz, Morelos, 
Michoacan, Jalisco, Mexico, Oaxaca, Yucatan, and Coa- 
huila. Pulque is usually transported from the haciendas 
in sheep-skins ; and tnescal and aguardiente are carried in 
kegs. 

The liquors above mentioned, however, are not the only 
ones which Mexico produces. The soil of the country is 
adapted to the culture of all kinds of grapes. Red and 
white wines are manufactured in comparatively small 
quantities, most of the native wines coming from the 
States of Chihuahua and Coahuila. But nearly all the 
wine consumed in Central Mexico is imported from 
France and Spain by merchants in Vera Cruz. Eed 
wine is sold at from seventy-five cents to one dollar per 
quart bottle, 

A limited amount of beer is also produced. It is made 
chiefly in the States of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Vera Cruz, 
Puebla, and the Federal District. Much St. Louis (Mis- 
souri) beer is imported, and sold at the high price of 
three reales per bottle in the northern part and four re- 
ales in the southern part of Mexico. The cocoanut-wine 
comes for the most part from Michoacan, Yucatan, and 
Campeche. 

The following table, from Senor Busto's Estadistica de 
la Republica Mexicana, shows the amount of wines and 



CIGARS AND TOBACCO. 



115 



liquors produced in the year 1879, together with their 
value : 



WINES AND LIQUORS. 



Brandy from grapes 

Brandy from sugar-cane (aguardiente). 

Beer 

Jlescal of Tequila 

Common mescal 

Pulque " tlachique " 

Fine pulque 

Common pulque 

White wine 

Red wine 

Wines and various liquors 

Cocoanut-wine 



Total 526,349,903 



Pounds. 



1,169,467 

4'2,498,'737 

22,128,999 

19,835,200 

11,336,080 

168,146,213 

220,468,880 

23,124,360 

4,866,859 

7,765,380 

4,717,361 

290,367 



Dollars. 



114,453 
2,052,150 

768,703 
1,176,000 

570,646 

323,232 
3,935,995 

330,301 
1,154,196 
1,508,475 

941,021 
34,341 



12,909,513 



xxxy. 
Cigars and Tobacco. 

Smoking is universal in the Republic. The Mexican 
smokes at the theatre, in all public conveyances, in the 
shops, during meal-time, and even in church. Cigarettes 
(cigarrillos) are consumed in about the same quantity as 
cigars {ptiros). Mexicans when about to smoke will always 
offer cigarettes to by-standers, whether they are acquainted 
or not, and the refusal to accept will generally give offense. 

The cigars made in the State of Vera Cruz are, perhaps, 
the finest in the country. They are very cheap. Choice 
cigars can be purchased at six pesos a hundred. The brand 
known as La Giralda is mild and very popular. Owing to 
the low price of tobacco, even the poorer classes smoke im- 
moderately. The "weed" is used by men, women, and 
children. 

Early Spanish historians tell us that tobacco, called 



116 GENERAL INFORMATION: 



pycietl by the ancient Mexicans, was known to them before 
the Conquest. They were in the habit of smoking pipes 
and taking snuif. The Government derives a large rev- 
enue from the sale of tobacco. Mexico consumes about 
$18,000,000 worth of it annually. 

Tobacco is not exported in considerable quantities, but 
Mexican cigars are generally found in New York and a few 
of the larger cities of the United States. ( Vide chapter on 
agriculture for an account of the tobacco-culture.) 



1 



XXXVI. 
Maniifactures. 



When the Spaniards invaded Mexico, in 1519, they 
found the Aztecs possessed manufactures of considerable 
merit. The latter wore escaupil — a kind of armor made of 
quilted cotton, thick enough to be impenetrable to the light 
missiles of aboriginal warfare. The wealthier chiefs, how- 
ever, sometimes donned a cuirass made of thin plates of 
gold or silver, and wooden helmets. 

Soon after his arrival at Vera Cruz, Cortes sent cotton 
fabrics as presents to the Emperor Charles V. Historians 
tell us that cotton was perhaps grown, but certainly manu- 
factured, in Mexico as early as in any other civilized coun- 
try. The Spanish chroniclers of the time state, that the 
Aztecs made large webs as fine and delicate as those of Hol- 
land ; that they wore cloths of different figures and colors, 
representing various animals and flowers ; that feathers 
oftentimes made a part of the texture ; that they manufac- 
tured mantles, gowns, and bed-curtains ; and that a hand- 
some cloth was also manufactured by taking the finest hair 
of the rabbit and spinning it into thread, after which it 
was interwoven with cotton. 



MANUFA CTURES. 117 

The oldest cotton-factories are to be found in the city 
of Texcoco. 

The Aztecs were familiar with the art of reducing silver, 
lead, copper, and tin. The process was, however, easy 
and simple. They formed an alloy of the two last-named 
metals, and wrought tools of bronze. With these imple- 
ments they were able to cut not only metals, but, with the 
aid of fine sand, the hardest substances — as basalt, porphy- 
ry, amethysts, and emeralds {vide Prescott's Conquest of 
Mexico, vol. i, pp. 138, 139). 

Besides making textile fabrics, working in metals, and 
hewing stone, the ancient Mexicans molded pottery on a 
large scale, and manufactured from the maguey {Agave 
America?ia) a variety of articles, such as paper, thread, and 
cords from the leaves (which were also used to thatch roofs), 
pins and needles from the thorns, and pulque from the fer- 
mented juice of the stem. 

Owing to the restrictions imposed by the Government, 
manufactures did not thrive during the rule of the viceroys. 
Still, the cotton and woolen factories were preserved, the 
metals were reduced from the ores, and soap, wax, sugar, 
pottery, pulque, and a few other articles were produced. 
The frequent revolutions and the instability of the Federal 
Government since the War of Independence have greatly 
retarded manufacturing industry. Fuel being exceedingly 
scarce, steam is even now rarely used in the factories and 
reducing- works ; but water-, mule-, and man-power are gen- 
erally employed. In his long tour through the Eepublic in 
the winter and spring of 1883, the author noticed only one 
sugar-mill, one silver-reducing-mill, two cotton-factories, 
and a flour-mill, that were run by steam. In the latter case 
an aqueduct was in course of construction to conduct water 
to the mill as a motive power. On account of the configu- 
ration of Mexico, there is abundant water-power just below 
the border of the tierrafria and in some parts of the great 



118 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

plateau. Few things, comparatively, are manufactured at 
the present day. The establishment of industrial schools, 
however, in the cities of Guadalajara, Mexico, Puebla, and 
Orizaba, and recent industrial expositions in these cities, 
have given an impetus to domestic industry. The Her- 
cules cotton-mill at Queretaro furnishes employment to 
1,400 operatives (for description, see Section V). It is by 
far the largest mill in Mexico. A few others have been 
erected by French and German capitalists in the central 
part of the Kepublic. 

A company has recently been organized at Mapimi, in 
the State of Durango, to manufacture cotton goods at a 
place known as jo de Agua. The region affords fine water- 
power, and the factory will be started with forty looms. 
Small tread-mills are used extensively in making woolen 
cloths and blankets or zarapes. There are a few small 
silk-factories. 

Although the data are wanting to give an accurate list 
of all the manufactures of Mexico, together with their 
amount and value, we will take the following figures from 
Senor Busto's great work on Mexican statistics : The num- 
ber of factories in Mexico is 99 ; their value in machinery, 
$4,690,776; and in buildings, 14,816,999— making a total 
of $9,507,775. They contain 258,458 spindles and 9,214 
looms. Their annual consumption of cotton amounts to 
258,962 quintals,* and of wool to 59,240 arrohas. f The 
number of operatives employed is 12,346. 

The manufactures of the country may be concisely 
stated as follows : Cotton and woolen goods ; hats of straw 
and felt ; leather- work of every kind ; soap ; J wax, either in 
the form of candles, matches, or ex votos ; silk ; glass ; fur- 
niture ; pottery ; marble-work ; rope ; palm-leaf work of 
all kinds, as matting, baskets, brooms, brushes, etc. ; a few 

* 29,003,744 pounds. f 1,481,000 pounds. 

X Much soap is made in Guadalajara, Puebla, and Mexico. 



NATIVE PRODUCTIONS. 119 

kinds of paper ; * diligences and carts ; flour ; sugar ; choc- 
olate ; indigo ; tiles ; and adobe, or sun-dried brick ; also 
wine and liquors, which are described in a separate chapter 
{vide p. 115). 

N. B. — None of these articles are exported to any ex- 
tent. 



XXXVII. 
Native Productions. 

This chapter is designed to supplement the preceding 
one on manufactures. The Indians of to-day make various 
articles that were in common use among their Aztec an- 
cestors. 

The plumaje, or feather-work, which is sold in the 
shops at the capital, resembles that made in Montezuma's 
time ; but, instead of being interwoven with a cotton web, 
the feathers are put together in various forms and attached 
to a card-board. 

Different varieties of artificial birds are constructed in 
this manner, the gorgeous colors of the parrot tribe and 
the delicate down of the humming-bird affording excellent 
material for a beautiful model. Some of these birds are of 
life-size, but most of them are on a reduced scale. The 
modern Mexicans do not make knives, razors, and serrated 
swords of itztli, or obsidian, but the tourist may find frag- 
ments of this material on sale in the portales of the City of 
Mexico. 

Pottery is manufactured on a large scale {vide j^reced- 
ing chapter). It comes mostly from Guadalajara, Urua- 
pan, and Zintzuntlan. The Guadalajara ware is glazed 
and variegated in color. It is molded into all kinds of 
figures, many of which are artistic in design, and illustrate 
the national costumes. Aztec pottery is now very scarce. 

* There was no paper-factory up to 1803. 



120 GENERAL INFORMATIOK 

Numerous imitations are made, however, and travelers are 
cautioned against paying high prices for the spurious arti- 
cle. Eag figures dressed in Mexican costumes are sold ex- 
tensively by the Indians. All kinds of baskets composed 
of gayly-colored fragments of the palm-leaf are cheap and 
abundant. The zarapes are described in the chapter on 
costumes. Every variety of leather-ware is made in the 
country. Besides leathern clothing and foot-gear, bridles, 
saddles, whips, etc., are manufactured, whicb are often- 
times of exquisite workmanship. The author saw a silver- 
mounted saddle belonging to a wealthy young Jiacendado 
that was valued at 11,000. It weighed forty pounds. The 
Mexican onyx, or tecali, is wrought into paper-weights and 
small vases, and even into mantel-pieces. The pale-green 
variety of this stone is very beautiful. Tourists are recom- 
mended to purchase ornaments of tecali either at Puebla or 
at the capital. 

Choice embroidery {lordado) is made in Mexico. This 
work is done on velvet, silk, cloth, or muslin. Gold and 
silver thread is commonly used to embroider velvet and 
silk. The vestments of the priests are trimmed in this 
manner {vide chapter on the Church). Felt hats are usu- 
ally adorned with silver thread. The most beautiful piece 
of native needle-work on exhibition is found on the throne 
of the Sola de Embajadores, at the National Palace in the 
capital. It consists of the Mexican coat-of-arms embroid- 
ered with gold thread on dark velvet. 

Ladies wishing to purchase ornamental specimens of 
needle-work should have them made to order, as Mexican 
shopkeepers rarely have choice embroidery in stock. There 
is no fixed price for this class of work ; accordingly, stran- 
gers are advised to bargain with the dealers. 

Owing to the small number of artists, paintings which 
delineate Mexican scenery or costumes are seldom offered 
for sale. Photographs of the places of interest, both in 



JEWELRY. 121 

town and country, and also of the national dress, may be 
purchased in all the large cities. 



XXXVIII. 

Jewelry. 

Mexicait jewelry has justly acquired a world-wide 
fame. When the Spaniards invaded the country, they 
acknowledged that the gold and silver-smiths of the Aztec 
Empire excelled those of their own land. 

The precious metals were used in casting vessels, some 
of which were said to have been so large that a man could 
not encircle them with his arms. 

Gems like opal, turquoise or chalcMliuitl, ruby, agate, 
heliotrope, and chalcedony, were mounted in gold ; and 
artistic filigree-work in both gold and silver was made 
extensively. 

According to the accounts of the early Spanish chroni- 
clers, the ornaments worn by Montezuma must have been 
equal in elegance to many of the crown-jewels of the impe- 
rial families of Europe. 

At the present day the traveler will not meet with any 
large specimens of silver-ware, excepting the exquisite 
service of Maximilian, which is on exhibition in the mu- 
seum at the national capital. 

The modern jewelers confine themselves principally to 
the manufacture of watches, chains, necklaces, brooches, 
pins, buttons, and other articles for personal adornment. 
The filigree-work in silver is worn extensively, but that of 
gold is seldom used. 

Chapetas, or silver studs for hats, are made in large 
quantities. They are in the form of stirrups, revolvers, 
ropes, horse-heads, bull-heads, spurs, and other figures. 
These chapetas are fastened on either side of the crown 



122 GENERAL INFOEMATIOK 

(see chapter on costumes). Silver ornaments are sold at 
a low price, and they make handsome presents for tourists 
to purchase. The smallest and cheapest figures are ex 
votos in the shape of arms and legs. 



XXXIX. 

Theatres. 



Theatees may be found in all cities and towns of the 
country. The Mexican has inherited from the Spaniard 
his love for the drama. Many of the plays put upon the 
stage are translated from the French, the number of native 
dramatists being very small. Many traveling operatic and 
theatrical companies visit Mexico in the winter season. 
The opera-houffe is given every year. 

Sunday night is the most popular time to go to the 
theatre. The prices of admission are lower than in the 
United States. A seat in the parquet, or patio, gener- 
ally costs one peso. Smoking is allowed there. 

Ladies wishing to visit the theatres should procure 
tickets in a box or loja. They are plain edifices, with little 
interior decoration, and are commonly built with an ellip- 
tical auditorium, which has several tiers of boxes ranged 
one directly above the other, reminding the traveler of La 
Scala at Milan. 



XL. 

Music. 

The Mexican people are very fond of music. There 
are excellent military bands in all the cities and garrisoned 
towns, where a pagoda is generally erected in the main 
plaza. They usually play three evenings in the week. 



MUSIC. 123 

when the "swell" population turns out to enjoy the music. 
Travelers will find pianos all over the country, even in 
towns 500 miles distant from a seaport or railway termi- 
nus. Violins and guitars are also used, the latter being 
common among the Indians and mestizos. Wandering 
street musicians are rare. 

There is not much original Mexican music ; the national 
hymn, consisting of ten verses, being the best known. It 
was written by Bocanegra, and set to music by Nuno. 

The following is a metrical translation of the chorus 
and first two verses of the national hymn of Mexico : * 

CHORUS. 

Mexicans, haste to fight and bleed! 
Make ready sword and bridled steed ; 
Let the earth tremble to its core, 
Exulting in the cannon's roar. 

First Stanza. 
Oh, may the olive-branch of peace, 
Dear Fatherland, wave over thee ; 
For writ in heaven, by God's own hand, 
Is thine eternal destiny. 
And if the foe, with foot profane. 
Invade tliy soil, O sacred land ! 
Each son of thine, a soldier born, 
The fierce invasions shall withstand. 

Second Stanza. 
Behold them plunged in bloody strife ; 
The love which animates each heart 
Impels them on to give their life. 
And e'er count death the better part. 
The former exploits of thy sons, 
O Fatherland, remember now, 
And once again immortal crowns 
Of laurel shall adorn thy brow, 

* Arranged for the author by E. E. J. 



124 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

The singing in the churches is of a high order, and the 
choir-boys have exquisite alto voices. 



XLI. 

Dances. 

Mexicans are likewise passionately fond of dancingo 
Public balls {hailes) are frequent all over the Eepublic. In 
the capital they are held on Sunday nights, while in the 
smaller cities Saturday is the more common evening for 
them. Private balls are given by subscription in the prin- 
cipal cities, to which tourists may obtain invitations through 
some banker or merchant. 

It is rare to have a tertulia, or evening-party, without 
dancinsr. 



XLII. 

Festivals. 

The festivals of Mexico were formerly of a religious 
character, but since 1856 they partake of a political nature. 
The following is a list of the principal days on which the 
national flag is displayed : 

February 5. Anniversary of the Constitution of 1857. 

February 22. Birth of Washington. 

March 14. Santo of the King of Italy. 

March 21. Birth of Benito Juarez. 

April 1. Opening of the session of Congress. 

May 5. Anniversary of the defeat of the French at 
Puebla. 

May 8. Birth of the Curate Hidalgo. 

May 15. Capture of Queretaro in 1867. 

May 31. Close of the session of Congress. 

* Santo means the anniversary of the birthday of the saint after whom 
the king is named. 



BULL-FIGETS. 125 

June 21. Capture of Mexico in 1867. 

June 30. Anniversary of the reformation in Guatemala. 

July 4. Independence of the United States. 

July 18. Anniversary of the death of Juarez. 

July 20. Independence of Colomhia. 

July 28. Independence of Peru. 

July 30 . Death of the Curate Hidalgo. 

September 15. Independence of Guatemala. 

September 16. Independence of Mexico. 

November 15. Santo of the King of the Belgians. 



XLIII. 
BuU-fights. 

The bull-fight, ox funcion de toros, is the national fiesta 
of Mexico, and is one of the objectionable legacies of the 
Spaniards. Bull-fights take place on Sunday afternoons. 
The best performances are at Huisachal, a suburb of the 
capital. They are forbidden by law vrithin the city limits. 
There are bull-rings {plazas de toros) in all cities and 
towns. Several of the larger cities have two. The rings 
in Mexico are commonly of wood,* and are built in the 
form of an amphitheatre. The seats are classified into 
those in the shade (sombra) and those in the sun (sol). 
The former are, of course, preferable, and cost more than 
the latter. 

Most of the bull-fighters are Mexicans, but at the present 
time (1883) a famous Spanish maestro, named Ul Chiclanero, 
is " starring " in the Eepublic. Bull-fighters, or toreadores, 
are agile men, of rather slender build, and do not usually 
exceed the medium height. They seldom possess great phys- 
ical strength, but are expert jumpers. They are divided 

* The Spanish bull-rings are made of brick or stone. 



126 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

into four classes : the espadas, or matadores, who kill the 
bull with a sword ; the ianderilleros, who thrust barbed 
darts into his neck ; i\\e picador es, who ride jaded Eosinante- 
hacks, and strike the animal with their lances ; and the 
clmlos and capas, who tease him with gayly-colored cloths, 
and assist the toreadores generally. 

The bull enters the arena at the sound of a trumpet, 
and is in turn attacked by the above-named classes of 
fighters. When the persecuted beast falls from exhaustion 
and loss of blood, he is killed by the cachetero, who thrusts 
a small dagger into the nape of the neck, just above the 
spinal column. The body is then dragged out of the ring 
by a trio of mules, amid the deafening yells of the crowd, 
the band playing at the time. The carcass is sold to the 
butcher. Unlike the funciones of Spain, the horses are 
protected with huge leather covers, and the tips of the 
bull's horns are sometimes sawed off. 



XLIV. 
Cock-fights. 

Cock-fights, or peleas de gallos, take place all over the 
country. The cock-pits are light pyramidal structures that 
are made of wood, with a thatched roof, and open at the 
base. 

Cock-fighters, or galleros, are frequently seen in the 
streets, each carrying a game-cock, with a string tied to 
its leg. Sunday afternoon is the favorite time for cock- 
fighting. 

Occasionally the inhabitants of rival towns will have a 
match, when representatives of each will send picked game- 
cocks to engage in the fight. The event is announced, 
weeks beforehand, by gaudy bills posted on the sides of the 
public buildings. 



COSTUMES. 127 

It may be remarked that cock-fights are likewise com- 
mon in the Territory of New Mexico, although bull-fights 
are unknown. The most popular season for cock- and bull- 
fio-htinff is durino^ Lent. 



XLV. 
Costumes. 

The upper classes, especially the Government officials, 
in Mexico, have recently discarded the national costume, 
and now wear the European dress. Black coats and silk 
hats are as commonly seen on the Plaza mayor of the City 
of Mexico as on Broadway or Fifth Avenue. 

There is a great variety of costumes, however, among 
the country gentlemen, and among both sexes in the lower 
classes. The Mexican hat, or sombrero, is the most promi- 
nent part of the national dress. It is either of felt or 
straw, and has a very wide brim. When made of the for- 
mer material, the color varies from light gray to brown and 
black. The crown is trimmed with a silver band, and the 
brim is oftentimes heavily embroidered with silver thread. 
The cords around the crown are either single, double, or 
quadruple, and small silver ornaments called chapetas are 
attached to both sides of it. Straw hats are generally pro- 
vided with puffed bands of the same material, and occa- 
sionally silver cords are worn on them. The peasantry 
wear plain straw hats and white cotton shirts and trousers. 
Cloaks of water-flags or palm-leaf strips are used by the 
Indians. They are impervious to the rain. 

A zarape,* or blanket woven either of woolen goods or 
of both wool and cotton, is worn in the early morning and 
in the evening. An infinite variety of patterns may be seen 
in these zarapes. Stripes of various shades of red, yellow, 

yj * Sometimes spelled serape. 



128 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

and brown, are the prevailing colors. Unlike the ponchos 
and mangas of Spain, the zarapes are thrown over the 
shoulder, instead of inserting the head through a hole or 
slit in the middle. However, some of the latter style of 
blankets are worn, especially by diligence-drivers and don- 
key-boys. Stage-coachmen also wear leggings embossed 
with large nail-heads. 

Huaraches, or leathern sandals, fastened with straps over 
the instep and across the ball of the foot, take the place 
of boots or shoes among the lower classes. 

The usual style of dress among the peasant-women con- 
sists of a white waist and skirt, with a. blue scarf or shawl 
(rebozo). These simple colors remind the traveler of those 
adopted by Murillo in his paintings of the Virgin. Straw 
hats, like those worn by the poorer class of men, arc donned 
by the women. 

The ladies in cities are generally dressed in plain black, 
and without a bonnet. They carry black silk parasols and 
black fans. The mantilla is now generally disused. Since 
1881 young ladies, especially in the City of Mexico, have 
begun wearing hats of foreign make and dresses of various 
colors. * 

The Jiacendados and country gentlemen usually wear 
suits of black cloth, consisting of a short jacket with silver 
buttons, a waistcoat cut low, and pantaloons opening on 
the outside of the leg, with two rows of fancy silver but- 
tons along the outer seam. A faja, or sash, which is com- 
monly of a red color, is added to the costume, and the 
boots are made with high heels. This dress is worn in the 
tierra fria, and in the upper part of the tierra templada. 
In the tierra caliente the gentry wear plain white cotton 
suits with somhreros of felt or straw. In riding through 

* The American consul at the capital informed the author that, in 1880, 
his wife was compelled to send to the United States for a bonnet, being 
unable to purchase one in the City of Mexico. 



LOTTERIES.— STORES. 129 

the underbrush, chaparraleros, or loose leathern trousers, 
are worn over the ordinary pantaloons. Except in the 
large cities, swords or machetes are usually attached to the 
saddle-bow. 



XLVI. 

Lotteries. 

Following the example of Spain, lotteries were intro- 
duced into Mexico many years ago, and are now an impor- 
tant source of revenue. Lottery-tickets are sold in all the 
cities by men, women, and children. They are found on 
the portales of the plazas, at the doors of hotels and cafes, 
and on the street corners. The Government receipts from 
lotteries were : 

In 1880-'81 $32,856. 

In 1881-'82 60,000. 

In 1882-'83 800,000. 



XLVII. 
Stores. 

According to Prescott, there were no shops in the 
Aztec Empire. Goods and wares were sold in the market- 
place. Fairs were held at short intervals, and the mer- 
chants were itinerant traders. Under the Spanish domina- 
tion, the system was greatly modilied. With the impor- 
tation of merchandise from the mother-country came the 
gradual introduction of shops. They have undergone a 
great change since 1870. The shops usually have fanciful 
names, such as "The City of Paris," "The Azure Boot," 
*' The Red Gown," etc. 

While household ornaments, books, hardware, crockery. 



130 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

leather-work, and a few other articles, were formerly on 
sale in considerable quantities, wearing-apparel suitable for 
Europeans was almost unknown. A new era of trade has 
dawned upon the Eepublic since the introduction of Ameri- 
can railroad enterprise. The foreign resident need no 
longer send to New York, London, or Paris for luxuries 
and fashions. All kinds of clothing can now be made at 
short notice ; and preserves, canned goods, hams, wines, 
confectionery, and other articles which the European re- 
quires, are found in the shops. The finest mercantile 
establishments are in the cities of Puebla and Mexico. 
French is spoken in many of them. The shops on the 
Calle de San Francisco, on the Plateros, and on the Plaza 
mayor in the capital, are commodious, and contain a fine 
assortment of goods. Some of the clerks speak English. 
Strangers are charged exorbitant prices, so it is advisable 
to marcliander with the salesmen. 



XLYIII. 
Pawnbroker-Shops. 

These institutions are controlled by the Government, 
and exist in all the cities of Mexico. They are termed 
monte de piedad, or montepio. 

There is a large monte de piedad in Puebla, and a cen- 
tral office with several bran.ches at the cajDital. The arti- 
cles deposited as security for loans in the pawnbroker-shops 
are chiefly wearing-apparel, leather-work, jewelry, and 
fire-arms. The Government officers set a price on goods 
forfeited to the montepio. If they are not sold within a 
few weeks, a second price is fixed. Should the articles fail 
to find a purchaser at the reduced valuation, they are ap- 
praised again. They are then kept for an indefinite period, 
till the tliird price is paid. 



THE CHURCH. 131 

Travelers can occasionally find rare and valuable objects 
at these shops. The bills of the national monte de piedad 
circulate at par throughout the country. 



XLIX. 
The Church. 



Up to the year 1859 one third of all the real and per- 
sonal property in Mexico was owned by the Church. Many 
of the finest buildings, as well as large tracts of land in the 
heart of the large cities, belonged to the clergy. 

The bishops' palaces at Puebla and at the capital con- 
tain so many deeds, leases, etc., that they remind one of a 
county clerk's oflSce, rather than the residence of a high 
ecclesiastical dignitary. 

All churches and convents in Mexico are built of the 
most costly materials and in the most substantial manner. 
Lofty towers are usually added to the churches, and their 
fagades are oftentimes exquisitely carved. (See chapter 
on architecture.) The interior decorations, paintings, fur- 
niture, and the services, are artistic in character. They 
were imported from Europe and transported by wagons for 
distances varying from one hundred to six hundred miles 
at great expense. 

The high altars as well as the stalls of the choir are 
beautifully carved, the former being usually gilded. Large 
organs are found in the cathedrals and principal churches, 
and occasionally the same building will have two of them 
on opposite sides of the choir. In the Morelia * and Guada- 
lupe cathedrals, there are silver railings around the edge of 
the high altar and leading thence to the choir. Many of 

* The silver railing at Morelia was removed by the Liberal party during 
the Reformation, 



132 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

the doors in the tabernacles are made of silver. The beau- 
tiful tecali, or so-called Mexican onyx, is used extensively 
for altars and fonts. ( Vide chapter on Morelia, in Section 
IV.) Most of the churches are furnished with wooden 
settees. Prie-dieux are unknown. 

A large number of the churches are rapidly falling into 
decay, and many of them are now used for business pur- 
poses, e. g., barracks, warehouses, marble-works, etc. Dur- 
ing his extensive tour through Mexico, in the winter and 
spring of 1883, the author saw but a single instance of 
a church undergoing repairs, viz., on the plaza of Inda- 
parapeo in Michoacan. Several of the convents adjoining 
the churches are at present in ruins, while others have not 
been occupied for years, and some of them are now altered 
into hotels, as at Zacatecas and Monterey. 

These institutions are crowded together into the cities 
and towns, none being found in the rural districts as in 
Europe. {Vide chaj)ter on population.) 

It is a universal custom to hang ex votos on the walls of 
the churches. They are either made of silver or wax, or 
consist of small paintings of the Virgin Mary. 

Various notices invoking pater-nosters, or aves, for the 
repose of the souls of departed friends, or soliciting alms 
for certain purposes, are printed on paper of several colors 
and posted on the main door of the churches. Keligious 
tracts, and ribbons giving the size of the head of some par- 
ticular saint, are sold at the entrance to many of the cathe- 
drals and chapels, especially during the lenten season. 

A typical church-scene in Mexico is a number of men 
clothed in white-cotton garments, with zarapes of variegat- 
ed colors on their shoulders, with broad-brimmed straw hats 
in their hands, and wearing huaracTies, or leathern sandals, 
kneeling on a stone floor in company with women and girls, 
who are dressed in calico and wear a black shawl over the 
head and shoulders. 



TEE CHURCH. 133 

The yestments worn by the priesthood while celebrating 
high mass are very costly, and consist of silken robes heav- 
ily embroidered with gold and silver thread. When appear- 
ing in the street the priests usually wear the ordinary cloth 
gown and cloak. It is, however, forbidden by law in some 
parts of the country, e. g., in the Federal District, for 
the clergy to walk the streets in the garb of their order. 

As regards the power of the Church in Mexico at the 
present day, it may be said that it is almost entirely lost, 
except in a few States like Michoacan. The politicians, 
however, make extravagant promises to the clergy, in the 
hope of securing their good graces in the elections. In the 
northern States the priesthood are becoming less influential 
from day to day. 

Flag-staffs have been erected on the fagades of the prin- 
cipal churches, from which the national colors are dis- 
played. In the City of Mexico the ringing of bells is re- 
stricted by statute to the period of three minutes at one 
time ; and the space of one half hour must elapse before 
they can be again sounded. 

The hold of the Catholic clergy on the Mexican people 
is confined principally to the laboring classes. It is a com- 
mon saying that, when a peon earns two dollars, he gives 
one dollar and forty-five cents to the priest, sjDends fifty 
cents for pulque, and supports his family on the remainder. 

Among the more highly educated classes, the men are 
indifferent to religion, and oftentimes refuse to allow their 
wives and daughters to visit the confessional. They charge 
that the priest learns the pecuniary condition of the pater- 
familias through the female members of the household. 
In 1882 the clergy in the Republic were estimated to num- 
ber ten thousand. 

Notwithstanding the comparatively long period in which 
the Liberals have been in power in Mexico, the hostility 
between the Catholics and Protestants is as intense as ever. 



134 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

The priests still threaten to excommunicate peons who work 
on buildings or farms owned by the Protestants. Since 
1870 the Liberal Government has favored the establishment 
of Protestant churches throughout the country. During 
the administration of President Juarez a fine parish church 
was presented to the Protestants in the national capital. 
Their missions have since been founded in Puebla, Cuer- 
navaca, Zacatecas, Monterey, and many other cities. 

As recently as December, 1882, a collision took place 
between the Eoman Catholics and Protestants at Zacatecas. 
The former attempted to demolish a chapel which was 
owned by the latter, when the military came to the rescue 
and dispersed the rioters with bloodshed. The State gov- 
ernments are generally disposed to protect the Protestants, 
and accordingly offer convict-labor to complete their houses 
of worshijD, when the peons can not be employed.* In 
Chihuahua the Americans now attend divine service at the 
residence of the pastor, the Eev. Mr. Eaton. 

N. B.' — Foreigners, intending to engage in either min- 
ing or farming in Mexico, are strongly advised to concili- 
ate the padre, as he is usually the most influential person 
in small towns and villages. Considering the influence of 
the clergy on the lower classes, discourteous treatment 
of the priest may result in the refusal of the peons to 
work for the offending individual. 



L. 
Jurisprudence. 

The Eoman law prevails in Mexico, and a code, based 
upon the Code Napoleon, has been adopted. 

There is a written Constitution and a system of statutes 

* The chapel at Zacatecas was rebuilt by convicts. 



JURISPRUDENCE. 135 

for the Republic. Each State has also its own laws, which 
are administered independently of those of the Federal 
Government. Trial by jury occurs in criminal cases only. 
Felonies are punished by long terms of imprisonment, 
while the jDenalty for misdemeanors is generally a fine 
ranging from twenty-five cents to several hundred dollars. 
The former amount is the equivalent of one day's wages 
for certain classes of laborers. 

Of late years, the authorities have ordered a great many 
brigands to be shot without a trial. In the State of Zaca- 
tecas, two hundred persons, who were known to be bandits, 
are said to have been killed in a single year. 

Life and property are now as safe in Mexico as in the 
United States. 

Europeans residing in Mexico complain of the system 
of keeping prisoners in close confinement for a long period 
ivWiout a trial. The prisons are damp and unhealthy, 
and the fare is of the worst quality. 

The rules of practice for filing documents in the public 
offices are different from those of the United States. Ori- 
ginal wills, deeds, mortgages, etc., must be recorded in 
blank books and deposited in the proper office. These are 
provided by the municipal government. None but inter- 
ested persons can obtain copies of them. Deeds and other 
instruments executed as far back as the year 1540 are on 
file in the register's office of a few cities. 

All deeds, leases, contracts, etc., must be executed be- 
fore a notary {escribano publico). 

Stamps must be affixed to all kinds of instruments, and 
a rubrica, or dash of the pen, must be added to a signature 
to make it legal. 

At present aliens can take real estate by deed and de- 
vise, but they can not own land within twenty leagues of 
the frontier line, or less than fifteen miles from the coast, 
except by special permission of the Executive. 



136 GENERAL INFORMATION. 



1 



"Any foreigner who desires permission to own real estate within 
the above-mentioned limits, must address his petition to the Secre- 
tary of Public Works at the City of Mexico, accompanied by a report 
from the government of the State or Territory where the property 
is situated. 

" The foreign proprietor of real estate forfeits his rights of pos- 
session under any of the following circumstances: 

'' 1st. By being away from the Eepublic with his family for 
more than two years without permission from the General Govern- 
ment. 

" 2d. By residing outside of the Republic, even though he has 
a representative residing upon his property or in the Republic. 

" 3d. By transferring or conveying said property by inherit- 
ance or any other means to any person non-resident in the Re- 
public. 

" Any foreign property-owner, who may fall into any of the three 
conditions above stipulated, is compelled to sell his real estate to 
a Mexican citizen, within two years from the date of his absence 
from the Republic; or, in case he fails to comply with this pre- 
scription, the public authority will effect the sale of the property, 
depositing the proceeds of it to the order of the owner of the 
property. If said sale has been made by ' denouncement ' of the 
property, one tenth of the proceeds shall go to the person who 
made the ' denouncement ' and the balance to the absent for- 
eigner. . . . Aliens who are members of a mining company that 
has either discovered or reopened any abandoned mine are exempt 
from these rules. 

" Foreigners who have acquired real estate from private owners, 
or the Government of Mexico, are subject to all kinds of taxation, 
and are bound to do military duty whenever called upon to protect 
the property they have acquired, or preserve public order and tran- 
quillity in the place where they reside, and are bound to take part 
in the elucidation of all questions that may arise in regard to said 
property, according to the existing laws, and before the tribunals of 
Mexico, without ever appealing to their rights of foreign citizenship, 
or to any intervention from a foreign power." 

" Grantees of public lands are compelled to locate on their grant 



EDUCATION. 137 

at least one inhabitant for every two hundred hectares,* wlio shall 
reside thereon without interruption during ten years, not being ab- 
sent more th&nfour months during each year. In failing to comply 
with this clause of the law, they will forfeit their right to the land, 
as well as the price paid for it. 

" Any person enabled to hold property by 'denouncement' of 
public lands can not obtain more than 2,500 hectares,! by virtue of 
the law of limitation, until he has had possession of the land for ten 
years, and has complied with the other requisites of law, and those 
prescribed in the above clause." 

These extracts from the laws of Mexico are taken from 
Castro's Republic of Mexico, pp. 188-190. 

Lawyers who have taken a degree are termed licencia- 
dos. The leading counselors of the principal cities can gen- 
erally speak English. Very few foreigners have thus far 
begun the practice of law in the Eepublic. Excepting the 
Supreme Court at the capital {Suprema Corte), the court- 
rooms are open to the public. The judges sit from 9 to 
12 A. M., and from 3 to 5 p. m. The jurisdiction of the 
inferior tribunals {juzgados) resembles that of the county 
courts of the United States. 

For further information on the laws of Mexico, con- 
sult the following Spanish works : El Prutocolo, El Co- 
digo, El Nuevo Escriiaiio Instruido, Las Ordenanzas de 
Tierras y Aguas, and Las Ordenaiizas de Mineria. The 
latter consists of mining laws. 



LI. 
Education. 

Unfortunately, a small portion only of the Mexi- 
can people are able to read and write. The number of 

* 494^ acres. f 6,177^ acres. 



138 GENERAL INFORMATION: 

illiterate persons can only be estimated, as there are no 
accurate census returns. We are of the opinion that it 
amounts to 6,500,000, or about two thirds of the entire 
population. 

Colleges {colegios) have been established in the principal 
cities for many years. There are schools of the arts, of 
law, of medicine, and of science. The Colegio de Mineria, 
or mining school, in the capital, was founded about the 
close of the last century. (See chapter on the City of 
Mexico in Part Second.) 

The traveler should not, however, be misled by this 
term "colegio." It is often used in the rural districts as 
synonymous with " school," very much as it used to be in 
the Western States of the Union. Soon after the French 
invasion, a common-school system similar to that of the 
United States was introduced into Mexico. The English 
language is now generally taught, and even many business 
men are studying it with a private tutor. A few industrial 
schools have been established in the larger cities. Mexican 
children are said to be very docile pupils, and in the hands 
of good instructors they learn readily. Among the wealthier 
families, it is common for parents to send their sons abroad 
to be educated, as to New York, London, or Paris ; and a 
few Mexican students may be found in the universities and 
mining schools of Germany. 

Young women and girls attend only the parochial schools 
of the country, and the higher education is unknown among 
them. The completion of the American trunk-lines of rail- 
road may tend to increase the number of young men who 
go to the United States annually to "finish" their educa- 
tion. 

The following table is taken from Castro's RepulUc of 
Mexico, p. 200. It shows the number of public schools in 
the States and the Territory of Lower California, and the 
cost of their maintenance for the year 1880 : 



NEWSPAPERS. 



139 



STATES. 


1 

1 

53 

4ii 

70 

18 

78 

73 

95 

176 

392 

412 

439 

887 

154 

47 

181 

284 

889 

101 

183 

238 

80 

48 

176 

60 

580 

163 

311 

17 


11 


3 

H 

79 

57 
100 

35 

90 
113 
125 
321 
420 
518 
714 
1.068 
243 

87 
285 
281 
1,007 
163 
239 
280 
105 

65 
194 

60 
729 
202 
489 

26 


I. 'p. 

3 

2; 


^ 1 


% . 
a = 

a §* 
1 


!1 

§■3 




26 
14 
80 
17 
12 
40 
30 

145 
23 
76 

275 

181 
89 
40 

104 
47 

118 
62 
56 
42 
25 
17 
18 

149 

89 

178 

9 


4.800 

3,600 

5,230 

1.452 

2,125 

3.350 

3,102 

10,754 

13,006 

15.8!9 

28.376 

41,321 

7,000 

8,209 

8.928 

16,420 

50,320 

6,271 

9.4?6 

6,600 

8.500 

2,695 

8.100 

4.(100 

20.021 

8.659 

13,738 

677 


1,200 

700 

2,127 

1,502 

500 

928 

1,850 

7,045 

1,755 

3,871 

11,160 

10,245 

8.200 

5,387 

4,732 

3,296 

15,000 

2,922 

8,690 

2,600 

740 

525 

1,550 

5,937 

2,643 

6,653 

867 


6,000 

4.300 

7,357 

2,954 

2.G25 

4,278 

4.452 

17,799 

14,761 

19,190 

89,5:36 

51,566 

10,200 

13.596 

18,660 

19,716 

65,820 

9,193 

13,176 

9.200 

4,240 

3,220 

9,650 

4,000 

25,958 

11,802 

20,891 

1,044 


i;io,ooo 




15,000 




26,000 




ls,000 




10.000 




28,473 




20,000 




81,386 




34.965 


10 Hidal"-o 


82,287 




100,000 




187,216 




5-2,756 




22,866 




68,000 




50.982 


17. Puebla 


153,000 




30.000 




40,000 


2^ Sinaloa 


58.000 




20.090 


22. Tabasco 


20,000 


23. Tlaxcala 


20,000 




10.000 




218.985 




50.(100 




72,000 


Ter'y of Lower California. . 


10,000 


Total 


6,228 


1,867 


8,095 


307,559 


101,125 


408,684 


1,510.446 







LII. 
Newspapers. 

About sixty newspapers are published in Mexico. Most 
of them are printed in Spanish, and some are in French and 
in English. In the City of Mexico there are several daily 
papers in Spanish and two in French. The Ifonitor Re- 
publicmio, which has an edition of about seven thousand 
copies, is said to have the largest circulation, while that 
of many of the other newspapers does not exceed five 
hundred. One semi-weekly English paper, The Two Re- 
publics, and one weekly journal half in Spanish and half 



140 GENERAL INFORMATION. 

in English, TTie Financier, are also published at the na- 
tional capital. A few American newspapers may be found 
in Chihuahua. All of them devote a large space to adyer- 
tisements. 

Under the administration of Santa Anna began the 
subsidy of the press. Subventions are now given to papers 
that can not be published except at a loss. 

Formerly a special jury took cognizance of the offenses 
of the press, but a constitutional amendment passed in 
1883 brings these offenses under the jurisdiction of the or- 
dinary courts. 



Llir. 
Miscellaneous. 

Ameeican^ consuls or vice-consuls reside at the follow- 
ing towns : 

Acapulco, Batopilas, Camargo, Campeche, Chihuahua, 
Guadalupe y Calvo, Guaymas, Guerrero, La Paz, Manzanillo, 
Matamoros, Mazatlan, Merida and Sisal, Mexico, Minatit- 
lan, Monterey, Musquiz, Nuevo Laredo, Paso del Norte, 
Piedras Negras, Progreso, Saltillo, San Bias, San Jos6, 
San Luis Potosi, Tampico, Tuxpan, Vera Cruz, and Za- 
catecas. 

There are no English consuls, but the British Govern- 
ment employs private agents. 

Doctors intending to practice in the Mexican Republic 
should learn at least one language besides Spanish, i. e., 
either French or German. 

Eeliable interpreters can be found in the principal cities 
only. 

The value of real estate is increasing in the large cities. 
The landlords are unwilling to sell unless at an exorbitant 
price ; accordingly, foreigners intending to engage in trade 



MISCELLANEOUS. 141 

or manufacturing will do well to lease projperty for long 
terms, instead of purchasing it. 

In 1881 the value of city property was $169,684,376 52 

And that of rural property was 181,873,994 04 

Total $361,558,370 56 

Americans are gradually introducing their inventions 
into Mexico. The Government, being anxious to establish 
and encourage home manufactures, has already issued many 
patents to citizens of the United States for new machines 
and improved methods of utilizing the various products of 
the soil of Mexico, which have hitherto been neglected for 
lack of knowledge and skillful treatment. 

The rules for soliciting patents are as follow : 

A patent cf introduction is obtained by petition to the Government and 
act of Congress. The duration of the patent is limited by the concession 
granted by Congress. The usual period is ten years, and that of the im- 
provement to a patent is six years. The Government will not inquire into 
the usefulness of any invention. Extensions are only given by Congress. 

The documents, which must be in Spanish, are : 1. Petition (soHciiud) • 
and 2. Description or explanation of the subject of the patent, together 
with designs or models in duplicate. The fees will be from ten to three 
hundred dollars. Upon issuing a patent, the Government will return the 
extra copy of the descriptions, designs, or models which accompany the 
petition. A copy of the law will be sent with every patent when issued. 

N. B. — Inventors can procure the names of responsible parties to intro- 
duce their inventions by writing to any of the consuls mentioned at the 
head of this chapter. 

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. 

Capital may be advantageously invested in Mexico as 
follows : 

1. In cattle and sheep ranches. 

2. In water companies for irrigation. 

3. In the manufacture of paper, (There are but three 
or four kinds of paper made in Mexico. Nearly all the 
white paper is imported.) 

4. In woolen and cotton mills. 



142 GENERAL INFORMATION. 



"l 



5. In the manufacture of hardware and machinery. 
(The duty on hardware is enormous.) 

6. In the improvement of harbors and the construction 
of wharves. (Many of the harbors might, at a small ex- 
pense, be rendered navigable for large vessels.) 

7. In the organization of district-telegraph, telephone, 
and electric-light companies. (The former are unknown. 
There are a few of the others.) 

8. In erecting hotels with all the modern conveniences. 
(First-class hotels are very rare. ) 

9. In the culture of sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton, and 
fruit. 

10. In opening the numerous wells of petroleum, and 
in refining the article. (Two refineries have just been 
erected in the State of Vera Cruz. Petroleum is destined 
to be a great source of wealth to Mexico. In 1882, 1,300,- 
000 gallons were exported from New York to Vera Cruz. 
The country is capable of exporting this commodity to 
Europe, besides producing enough for home consumption.) 

We have omitted to name the mining of the various 
ores, as foreigners have invested largely in the Mexican 
mines. 

STANDARD BOOKS ON MEXICO. 

Clavigero, Storia Antica del Messico. 
Bernal Diaz, Historia de la Conquista. 
Sahagun, Historia Universal de Nueva Espaila. 
Veytia, Historia Antigua de Mejico. 
Herrera, History of America. 
Solis, Conquest of Mexico. 
Kingsborough, Mexican Antiquities. 
Humboldt, Political Essay on New Spain. 
Humboldt, Atlas de la Nouvelle Espagne. 
Dupaix, Antiquites Mexicaines. 

Stephens, Incidents of Travel in Central America, 
Chiapas, and Yucatan. 



WEAT MEXICO NEEDS. 143 

Ward, Mexico in 1827. 

Calderon de la Barca, Life in Mexico. 

Prescott, Conquest of Mexico. 

Chevalier, Mexico, Ancient and Modern. 

Wilson, Mexico and its Religion. 

Wilson, History of the Conquest of Mexico. 

Tempsky, Mitla, Adventures in Mexico, etc, 

Buxton, Adventures in Mexico. 

Bullock, Six Mo7iths in Mexico. 

Brantz-Mayer, Mexico, as it ivas and as it is. 

Haven, Our Next-Door Neighbor. 

Lucas- Alaman, Historia de Mejico. 

Zamacois, Historia de Mejico. 

The New American Cyclopasdia, article on Mexico. 



LIV. 
What Mexico needs. 



That Mexico may assume an elevated rank in the fam- 
ily of nations, two conditions are necessary '.first, the educa- 
tion and elevation of the mass of her population ; second, 
the development of her unequaled natural resources. 

According to an eminent American statesman and di- 
plomatist,* "of the ten millions of people in Mexico, fully 
three quarters are Indians, two thirds of whom can not 
read, nor ever had an ancestor that could, who never slept 
in a bed or wore a stocking, and who are accustomed to 
live at a less expense per day than a farm-horse would cost 
in any NeAv England State." 

Comprising a territorial area sixteen times greater in 
extent than that of the State of New York, every vari- 
ety of climate, and, consequently, every vegetable product 

* The Hon. John Bigelow. 



IM GENERAL INFORMATION. 



1 



whicli is found between the equator and the Arctic Circle, 
may be said to exist within her borders. Nor is this all. 
Besides having yielded one half of the existing stock of 
silver in the world, her mines are still believed to be the 
richest on the face of the globe. Her deposits of iron are 
unsurpassed in quantity and quality. To these are to be 
added every other metal which science has enumerated. 

How, then, shall the matchless vegetable and mineral 
resources of the Eepublic be developed ? That Northern 
enterprise, industry, and capital will become important fac- 
tors in the solution of the problem there is little room to 
doubt. The introduction of the most approved agricul- 
tural implements and processes, as well as of the most ap- 
proved methods of treating the ores, will, of course, increase 
many fold the productions in both departments of labor. 
Yet, under existing circumstances, such a result would be 
neither useful nor profitable. Indeed, without the open- 
ing of new fields of industry, and of new avenues for plac- 
ing the surplus products in the markets of the world, an 
increase of production might even prove disastrous. In his 
recent elaborate publication entitled Raihvays in Mexico, 
Senor Eomero, the Mexican Minister at Washington, perti- 
nently remarks : " A year of good crops in Mexico is a real 
calamity in many of the agricultural districts, as the pro- 
duction in that year far exceeds the consumption of the 
immediate neighborhood ; and grain can not be sent to any 
distance on account of the high cost of transportation," 

Happily, the first and most essential step has already 
been taken to provide adequate means of transportation for 
all the surplus products of the country. The great lines 
of railway which are now rapidly approaching completion, 
together with those which have been begun under the 
auspices of General Grant, Mr. Gould, and other experi- 
enced railroad managers, connecting, as they do, with the 
roads of this country, will become an integral part of a 



WEAT MEXICO NEEDS. 145 

system which is infinitely the grandest and most extensive 
in the world. Supplemented as these great avenues of 
trade and travel will be by innumerable turnpikes, which 
will form so many lateral tributaries, and for the construc- 
tion of which the face of the country affords exceptional 
facilities, their influence will be felt throughout the length 
and breadth of the land. 

But what Mexico needs, far more than the expansion of 
her physical resources, is the elevation of the toiling millions 
of her people. This result can only be achieved by their 
education, not alone in the lessons of the schools, but in 
the various branches of skilled industry and in social prog- 
ress and enlightenment. 

Thus far almost the only step which has been taken 
toward the intellectual culture of the young has been to 
provide schools for the training of the children of Spanish 
blood. Surely it requires no argument, in our day, to 
prove that the facilities for acquiring at least the element- 
ary l)ranches of education ought to be placed within the 
reach of every child, without reference to color, creed, or 
lineage. 

This accomplished, the proper steps ought to be, and 
doubtless will be, taken to vest the ownership of the soil 
in its cultivators. The present land-tenure is what might 
reasonably be expected from the history of the country. 
Three centuries and a half ago the Spanish adventurers 
wrested it by force from the natives, and they and their 
descendants, almost without exception, have held it by the 
strong arm of power ever since. 

Of all the lessons of history, none is more emphatic 
than that the ownership of the soil by its cultivators is 
essential to a successful and profitable agriculture. The 
history of France before the outbreak of the Eevolution in 
the year 1789, the history of the British Islands, that of 
Ireland in particular, and our own experience as a nation 



146 OENEBAL INFORMATION. 



1 



during the existence of negro slavery, are all full of instruc- 
tion upon this point. 

It may, indeed, be doubted whether any other measure 
of public policy so imperatiyely demands a wise and liberal 
adjustment as the settlement of the land-tenure. If others 
than the Mexicans are to inhabit the country in the future, 
it requires no soothsayer to predict that this course will be 
found to be indispensable. 

One of the first fruits of the diversified industry spring- 
ing from the new departure will be better wages, better 
food, better clothing, and better houses for the toiling 
millions. Following these will come the intelligent par- 
ticipation of every adult male citizen in the administration 
of public affairs. That best of all guarantees for the pres- 
ervation of civil liberty and social order — the co-operation 
of all classes of citizens for the protection of the rights of 
person and property — will come next in course. Eevolutions 
and brigandage, which have so long been the curse and op- 
probrium of Mexico, will no longer be possible. A perma- 
nent government " of the people, by the people, and for the 
people," will do away these and all kindred abuses. Thus 
will a new impetus be given to the cause of free govern- 
ment throughout the world. 



PAET SECOND. 
CITIES AJ^D EOUTES OF TEAVEL. 



SECTION I. 
Mexico. 

HOW TO EEACH THE COUNTRY. 

We give below the various routes from New York to 
Mexico, by steamship and railroad, and partly by steamer 
and partly by rail : 

Route I. — From New York via Havana, Progreso, 
Campeche, and Frontera, to Vera Cruz, by steamer, in 
about ten days. 

Eoute II. — From New York to New Orleans by rail in 
about sixty hours, thence steamer to Vera Cruz in about 
five days, calling at Bagdad, Tampico, and Tuxpan. 

Route III. — From New York to Laredo, Texas (on the 
Rio Grande), by rail in four days ; or to El Paso, Texas, 
via St. Louis, in about the same time. 

Eoute L 
NEW TOKK TO VERA CRUZ BY STEAMER. 

Fares, first class, $85 ; second class, $60. 

Leaving New York, the steamer reaches Havana in 
about four days. A stop of an entire day is generally 
made at Havana before proceeding to the Mexican ports. 



148 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



^^' 



The tourist will not only liaye time to see tlie city, but can 
also visit the wonderful caves of Matanzas and the valley of 
Yumuri, distant two hours by rail. (For a full description 
of Cuba and the West Indies, see Appletons' Hand-Booh 
of Winter Resorts.) 

From Havana the steamer proceeds to Progreso, in 
Yucatan,* arriving there in about thirty-six hours, and 
stopping about twenty-four hours. The traveler can now 
disembark in a small boat, and set foot on Mexican soil. 
Progreso is the seaport of the city of Merida, twenty-two 
miles distant. There is no hotel accommodation in Pro- 
greso, but the American consul can assist the tourist in 
securing lodgings. The town is well laid out, and has 
straight and broad streets. Tourists will be interested in 
the scenes of the fruit and vegetable markets on the plaza. 
The houses are usually of one story, and are built of mor- 
tar, with thatched roofs. 

Indians constitute the greater part of the population, 
which amounts to 1,900 inhabitants. Much hemp, rice, 
and maize are grown in Northern Yucatan. Upward of 
90,000 bales of hemp are sent to the United States annually. 
Cacti and cocoa-palms are found in great abundance near 
Progreso. The tourist may have the opportunity of bath- 
ing in the warm surf before leaving town. 

A railroad has recently f been completed to the city of 
Merida (fares, first class, $1 ; second class, 75 cents). This 
is the capital of the State of Yucatan, and has about 32,000 
inhabitants. It is built on the site of the ancient Maya 

* Prescott states in the Conquest of Mexico, vol. i, p. 222, that Yucatan 
is a corruption of the word " tectecan," meaning, in the Maya language, / 
do not understand. This term was the reply which the Spanish navigators 
received upon landing on the coast, when they asked the natives the name 
of the country. Supposing it to be a direct answer to their question, the 
Spaniards called the newly discovered region Yucatan. 

f In 1881. 



MEXICO. 149 

city of Tihoo. Few travelers visit Merida, and hence there 
is only one small hotel there {Hotel Bazar). Several lines 
of railway are being constructed from this city to points in 
the interior. The road toward Peto, on the south, is now 
(July, 1883) 20 miles long ; that going to Valladolid, on 
the southeast, has been built for a distance of ten miles ; 
and seven miles of the line toward Calhini, on the south- 
west, have been finished. 

A concession has just been granted to some residents of 
Merida to construct a railway from the capital to Sotuta, 
via Izamal. 

Many interesting ruins are found in the northern and 
central parts of Yucatan. Tourists intending to visit them 
should purchase horses and provisions at Merida, and obtain 
letters of introduction {cartas de presentacion) to the offi- 
cials in the various towns. The most important ruined 
city is that of Uxmal, about 70 miles south of Merida. 
The cave of Saliacliao is within a few miles of it. The 
remains of Chichen-Itza and Izamal lie about 50 miles 
southeast of the capital, and those of Mayapan are situated 
about 30 miles south of Merida. These places are com- 
paratively easy of access. There are also interesting though 
less extensive ruins at Lahna, Zayi, Xcoch, and Ake, in 
Central and Southern Yucatan; but these localities have 
been rarely visited thus far by American or European trav- 
elers. (See chapter on ruins for a general description of 
these ancient cities and towns. ) 

Humboldt states that Yucatan is an arid plateau, whose 
surface does not rise higher than 5,070 feet above the sea- 
level. The greater part of the State is covered with allu- 
vial soil, and the climate is dry. Water is very scarce 
and valuable, there being only one river, the Rio Hondo. 
The rainy season lasts from April to October, during which 
time the reservoirs and tanks of the haciendas are filled for 
use in the remaining months of the year. 



150 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

From Progreso the steamer takes a southwesterly course, 
and touches at Canipeche, the capital of the State of the 
same name, and then proceeds to Frontera, in Tabasco. 
Cortes landed near the latter town on his voyage from Cuba 
to Mexico. 

Large quantities of logwood are exported from Fron- 
tera. The tourist may leave the steamer at this point, and 
visit the famous ruins of Palenque, which are situated about 
150 miles to the southeast. The Journey, however, is a dif- 



''t>- 








A Tropical Jungle. 

ficult one, and a small boat must be hired to ascend the Usu- 
macinta Eiver. Guides, provisions, blankets, tents, medi- 
cines, etc. , should be taken from Frontera. Travelers may 
also proceed to San Juan Bautista, the capital of the State 
of Tabasco (population, 6,800), and visit Palenque by road. 



MEXICO. 151 

Steamers do not touch at the ports of GampecJie and 
Frontera on every trip. (See time-table for exact dates of 
arrival.) The vessels anchor about five miles from the 
shore, and only stop long enough to transfer passengers, 
mail, and cargo to a small tender, and then continue on 
the direct route to Vera Cruz, reaching this port in about 
ten days out from New York, including stoppages. 

Approaching Vera Cruz, the snow-clad peak of Orizaba 
may be distinctly seen at a distance of 50 miles on a clear 
day, and the Cofre de Perote, another snow-capped mount- 
ain, is also visible. 

The Mexican coast is dangerous for navigators, on ac- 
count of coral reefs. Just before reaching Vera Cruz, we 
pass an island on the south side of the town. It is the 
Isla de los Sacrificios, and is said to have been used by the 
Aztecs for sacrificing a youth on a certain day in every 
year. 

The other island directly opposite the city of Vera Cruz 
is 8an Juan de Uloa. It was so named by Grijalva. This 
islet is covered with a fort, which was begun by the Span- 
iards in 1569, and finished in 1633. Hernando Cortes 
landed here on April 21, 1519. The fort is now used as a 
prison. Presently the steamer drops anchor. As soon as 
the health-officer has examined the vessel, and given the 
captain a clean bill of health, a large number of boats sur- 
round her, and the owners rush on board, offering their 
services to the passengers who are about to go ashore. 

There is no fixed price for disembarking at Vera Cruz, 
and the traveler should make a bargain with a boatman 
before leaving the steamer, to pay him so much for taking 
his baggage ashore, and also to the custom-liouse and hotel. 
A boatman will take a single passenger for a Mexican dol- 
lar, including the conveyance of his baggage to the hotel ; 
and, if a large party go in the same boat, an. arrangement at 
a reduced price can be made pro rata. 



152 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

It is impossible to land at Vera Cruz during a norther, 
which blows at intervals from October to March. Tour- 
ists may be compelled to remain several days on the 
steamship waiting for the waves to subside. Neither sail- 
ing-vessels nor steamers can enter this port while the north- 
er lasts. Vera Cruz has really no harbor at all, although 
the two islands already mentioned afford some protection 
to the shipping during a storm. Vessels at anchor gener- 
ally put to sea during a severe norther. It has often been 
said that Cortes should have founded the city of Vera Cruz 
at Anton Lizardo, a point about fifteen miles to the south- 
ward, which is the only good harbor on the Gulf of Mexico. 
The latter place is the terminus of a branch line of the 
Mexican Southern Railroad, and is evidently destined to 
surpass Vera Cruz in commercial importance at an early 
day. {Compare Section VII.) 

A French company has recently entered into a con- 
tract with the Mexican Government to build an extensiva 
breakwater in the harbor of Vera Cruz, which will cost 
about $10,000,000. 

VEEA. CETJZ. 

Population, 20,000. 

Hotels {Diligencias, Vera Cruzano, and de Mejico.) 

Cafes on the Calle de la Yndependencia. 

Telegraph-Office on the same street. 

Post-Office on the Calle de Cinco de Mai/o, about a quarter of a mile 
southwest of the main plaza. 

Places of Interest. — 1. Plaza de la Consiitucion. 2. Plaza del Mo-- 
cado. 3. The Parochial Church, the tower of which should be ascended for 
a view of the city. 4. The Alameda. 

None of the buildings of Vera Cruz are worthy of a 
visit. The climate is usually hot and very unhealthy, the 
vomito, or yellow fever, being prevalent in the summer 
season, and even breaking out occasionally in the winter 
months. Tourists are advised to spend as little time in 



MEXICO. 153 

this city as possible. Passengers on the steamers may remain 
on board until within an hour of the departure of trains 
for the interior. During a norther, however, the tem- 
perature sinks to 65° Fahr., and then, of course, the stran- 
ger is not incommoded by heat. Travelers can have their 
foreign money changed at the office of the agents of the 
principal lines of steamships, Messrs. R. G. Ritter & Co. 

The streets in the city of Vera Cruz are laid out at 
right angles, and are paved with cobble-stones, with a ken- 
nel in the middle. 

Flocks of turkey-buzzards, called zopilotes, take the 
place of a street-cleaning department. These birds are pro- 
tected by law, a fine of $5 being imposed for killing one of 
them. 

The houses are of either one or two stories, and are gen- 
erally built of stone and mortar, and covered with red tiles. 
Many of them have patios, or court-yards, and railings 
painted green in front of the windows facing the street, 
reminding the traveler of Old Spain. 

A walk, or ride in the horse-cars, from the main plaza to 
the Alameda, should be taken by the stranger. The variety 
of colors and signs on the buildings, the picturesque cos- 
tumes and musical language of the natives, and the tropi- 
cal vegetation, will have the charm of novelty to the tourist 
coming from a northern clime. 

Vera Cruz, formerly the capital of the State of the 
same name, is situated on the 19th parallel of north latitude. 
It was founded by the viceroy, Count Monterey, at the end 
of the sixteenth century, and was made a city by Philip III 
of Spain in 1615. The city is built on an arid plain. It 
was formerly called Villa Rica, or Villa Rica de la Vera 
Cruz — I. e., the rich city of the true cross. The original 
town of Vera Cruz founded by Cortes lies several miles 
north of the present city. 

Referring to this spot, the historian Prescott, in his 



154 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



Conquest of Mexico, vol. i, p. 229, says : " Little did the 
Conqueror imagine that the desolate beach on which he 
first planted his foot, was one day to be covered by a flour- 
ishing city, the great mart of European and Oriental trade, 
the commercial capital of New Spain." 

At the present day about two thirds of Mexican com- 
merce passes through the port of Vera Cruz. The imports 




' '-^i^;^. W>, '"Ac^ -■^-•^* . 




Jala^pa. 

are increasing rapidly, those of 1882 being nearly fifty per 
cent greater than those of 1881. 



An excursion may be made to Jalapa, sixty miles dis- 
tant, by tramway. It is said that the railroad between 
this town and Vera Cruz will be completed on August 1, 
1886. 

Jalapa. has a population of 12,400, and an elevation of 
4,335 feet. (Hotels, Nacional and Vera Gruzano.) The 



MEXICO. 155 

town is beautifully situated at the foot of the 3Iacuil- 
tepete Mountain. The well-known Cofre de Perote, 13,552 
feet high, according to Humboldt, is within a day's Jour- 
ney. There are no buildings in Jalapa of special interest 
to the tourist except the old convent of San Francisco. 
Many of the merchants of Vera Cruz have their country- 
houses at Jalapa. The climate is cool, although damp, for 
the greater part of the year. The soil is very fertile, and 
coffee, tobacco, vanilla, cotton, maize, and jalap are culti- 
vated extensively. The town derives its name from the 
latter plant. 

Travelers may visit the ruins of Papantta, which lie 
about fifty miles north of Jalapa. Diligences run as far 
as Tusintlan ; thence one must go on horseback. The 
teocalli lies about six miles from the town of Papantla, 
which contains a small hotel. Dr. Autrey, an Ameri- 
can physician, can give the tourist information about 
the country. Horses, blankets, and provisions should be 
procured for this journey. (See chapter on ruins for de- 
scription.) 

There is another teocalli at Tusapan, 45 miles west of 
Pa2Mntla. 

The village of Misantla, which is situated 30 miles 
northeast of Jalapa, contains a small pyramid. 

An Aztec temple may also be found at Mapilca, on the 
Rio Tecolutla. 

If the tourist has reached Vera Cruz by the northern 
route, he may make an excursion to the famous ruins of 
Palekque, by taking a steamer down the coast to Mina- 
titlan on the Goatzacoalcos Eiver, and thence proceed by 
road via San Cristobal ; or he may go directly to the mouth 
of the Eio Grijalva, ascend the river to San Juan Bau- 
tista, and then travel by horseback to Palenque via Macus- 
pan. This trip is somewhat difficult, but the traveler will 
be well repaid by visiting the ruins, which lie about eight 



156 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

miles from the town of Palenque. (For description of the 
buildings, see chapter on ruins.) Tourists should procure 
letters of introduction to the Government officials in the 
country lying between the coast and Palenque. There are 
no hotel accommodations, and the traveler will be obliged 
to pass the nights in Mexican huts, where he may always 
expect courteous treatment. 

Tourists are recommended to provide themselves with 
sufficient provisions, tents, camp-bedsteads, mosquito-net- 
ting, and medicines. Extreme caution should be taken to 
avoid the numerous insects as much as possible. The jun- 
gle abounds with moniqiiiles, jiggers, ticks, red ants, etc. 
The moniquiles burrow under the skin, causing great suf- 
fering. Should the stranger be attacked by these peculiar 
insects, he should employ the common remedy of pasting a 
leaf over the bite, which causes the insect to come to the 
surface, when it may be extracted. The natives will point 
out the peculiar kind of leaf to be used. 

Route II. 

FROM NEW YORK TO ISTEW ORLEAIsTS BY RAIL, THENCE BY 
STEAMER TO VERA CRUZ. 

Fare to New Orleans, $38. Fares from New Orleans to Vera Cruz — 
first class, $50 ; second class, $35. 

(For descrij^tion of New Orleans, see Apple tons' General 
Guide to the United States, or Hand-Booh of Winter Re- 
sorts. ) 

Leaving New Orleans, the steamer descends the Missis- 
sippi Eiver for about one hundred and twenty-five miles, 
and, entering the Gulf of Mexico by the South Pass, takes 
its course toward Bagdad, the port of 3£atamoros. No land 
is seen till the vessel approaches within a few miles of 
the latter town. We drop anchor about five miles from the 
shore, and a tender comes out to take off passengers, cargo. 



I 



MEXICO. 157 

and the mails. 3Iatamoros, in the State of Tamaulipas, is 
a port of entry, and lies on the south bank of the Rio 
Grande, opposite Brownsville in Texas, and about thirty 
miles from the mouth of the river. The population is 
about 12,000. A railroad is in progress toward the city of 
Monterey. Another is projected southward to Tampico. 
(See Section XII.) 

Leaving Bagdad, we sail southward, keeping out of 
sight of land almost all the way to Tampico. On reaching 
the latter port the passengers, freight, and mail are trans- 
ferred to a small sail-boat and carried over the bar at the 
mouth of the Rio Tampico to the town of the same name 
about nine miles distant. There is a small hotel at Tam- 
pico, and the population numbers 7,000. 

Ten miles to the northward is the Rio Pdnuco, famous 
in the history of New Spain as being the terminus of Gri- 
jalva's voyage from Cuba along the coast of the Gulf of 
Mexico, and also noted as the spot where the remnant of 
De Soto's band of explorers landed in their unfortunate 
voyage southward from the mouth of the Mississippi. 

The Rio Pdnuco is about one thousand feet wide, 
and is said to be navigable for a distance of twenty 
miles from its mouth. Small steamers connect Tampico 
with stage-coaches for San Luis Potosi via Ciudad del 
Maiz. 

A branch of the Mexican Central Eailway is being con- 
structed from Tampico toward the city of San Luis Po- 
tosi. (For description, see Section V.) 

From Tampico the steamship proceeds to Tuxpan, where 
passengers, freight, and mails are landed by means of a 
small sailing-vessel. The town lies nine miles above the 
mouth of the Tuxpan River, and has about 8,000 inhabit- 
ants. This river is navigable for about thirty miles, but 
there is only six feet of water on the bar at high tide. No 
hotel accommodations are to be had in Tuxpan. 



158 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

Papantla may be reached in two days on horseback. 
(See p. 46.) 

Valuable petroleum- wells are found in the yicinity, and 
two American companies have already erected works to 
refine the oil.* The petroleum occurs chiefly in the State 
of Vera Cruz, between the Pdnuco and Tuxpan Elvers. 
The wells are mostly near the coast, at Ghapapote, Santa 
Teresa, Juan Felipe, Escondida, SepuUura, Carribajal, 
Monte Grande, Paso Grande, and on the borders of the 
Laguna de Tamiahua. There are submerged stone ruins 
in this lagoon. A railroad from this port toward the City 
of Mexico is projected, but it will probably be several years 
before the work of construction is finished. 

It should be borne in mind that passengers can disem- 
bark at Bagdad, Tampico, and Tuxpan in good weather 
only. During severe northers they are taken to Vera Cruz. 

Route III. 

FROM ISTEVT YORK TO LAREDO, TEXAS, EITHER VIA ST. 
LOUIS, MISSOURI, OR NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA ; OR TO 
EL PASO, TEXAS, EITHER VIA TEXAS AND PACIFIC RAIL- 
WAY, OR ATCHISON, TOPEKA AND SANTA EE RAILROAD. 

Fares from New York to Laredo^ $69.15 unlimited, and $58.80 limited; 
and from New York to El Paso^ $74.60 unlimited, and $64.85 limited. 

(For description of these routes from New York south- 
ward, see Appletons' General Guide to the United States.) 

Sections IV and V of Part Second describe respectively 
the routes from Laredo and El Paso to the interior of 
Mexico. 

* The Vera Cruz Oil Company was organized at Boston in 1S81. Mr. 
Thomas Nickerson, Hon. B. F. Butler, and others, are shareholders. A 
well has been drilled to a depth of 372 feet, and filled with a five-inch 
casing. Experts say that this oil is very promising, and that there is only 
eight per cent waste. Land is cheap, the rate of taxation is low, and there 
is a duty of 32 cents a gallon on imported petroleum. 



MEXICO. 



159 



Tourists visiting Mexico from Smi Francisco, Culifor- 
nia, by rail, should take the Southern Pacific Eailroad to 
Be7ison, Arizona, 1,024 miles distant, and proceed to Gumj- 
mas, or other points on the west coast ; or go directly to 
El Paso, a distance of 1,286 miles, and thence travel into 
the interior. 




A Mexican Canon. 



SECTION II. 
The Mexican Eailway Company (Ferrocarril Mexicano). 

FEOM VEEA CEUZ TO MEXICO. 

263 J miles, or 424 kilometres. Fares, first class, $16 ; second class, 
$12.50 ; third class, $7.25.-* Time, 14^ hours. 

This route will be described as follows : 

1. From Vera Cruz to Orizaba. 

2. From Orizaba to Esperanza. 

3. From Esperanza to Puebla via Apizaco. 

4. From Puebla to the City of Mexico. 

1. From Vera CRrz to Orizaba, 82 miles. 

The tourist is advised not to proceed directly to the 
lofty table-land, but to remain a few days at some inter- 
mediate point, e. g., at Cordoba or Orizaba, in order to 
become accustomed to the rarefied air. The latter city is 
preferable as regards hotel accommodations, and it presents 
besides some objects of interest to the sight-seer. There is 
only one through passenger-train daily, which at present 
(1884) starts at 6 A. m. Leaying the railway-station, which 
is six and one fifth feet above the Gulf of Mexico, the road 
traverses a broad plain, which is barren near the city of 
Vera Cruz. The tourist soon encounters a dense growth of 
cactus and chaparral, with a few palms interspersed. 

A branch road leaves the main track about three miles 
from Vera Cruz, and runs to Medellin, six miles distant. 

* The dili'rence fare from Vera Cruz to Mexico used to be $50. 



THE MEXICAN RAILWAY COMPANY. 161 

In tlie tierra caliente (hot land) the hovels of the natives 
are of one story, and are generally thatched with palm- 
leaves. 

Three lines of telegraph are seen by the side of the 
track. One of them belongs to the National Government, 
another to a private corporation called "The Commercial," 
and the third to the Mexican Railway Company. The last 
uses imported poles of cast-iron, with white china insulators. 

Passing the station of Tejeria (9|- miles), whence a 
branch tramway leads to Jalapa, 60 miles distant, the sur- 
face of the ground continues flat, and affords good grazing 
all the way to Soledacl (26 miles) ; elevation, 305 feet. Here 
the train stops ten minutes. Coffee and bread are for sale, 
at the price of one real. The majestic, snow-clad j^eak of 
Orizaba now rises into full view. For a hundred miles the 
eye follows the crest of the sierra forming the eastern 
boundary of the table-land. 

The plain of the State of Vera Cruz is about thirty miles 
in width. After crossing the Soledad Eiver, the ascending 
gi'ade becomes perceptible. At many of the railway-stations 
cakes of compressed coal are piled in large masses. They 
are imported from Great Britain, as there is no coal near 
the line of the road, and wood being scarce and dear, except 
in the vicinity of the volcano of Orizaba. 

The next station is Camaron (39^ miles). The road 
now crosses a plateau covered with basaltic bowlders. The 
so-called Spanish moss, or lichen, hangs from the trees, 
reminding the American tourist of the forests of Georgia 
and Florida. 

Paso del Macho (47^ miles) is the next stopping-place. 
Here the train begins to ascend a heavy grade. The 
track makes a wide curve around the base of the thickly- 
wooded Chiquiliuite Mountain, and soon comes in sight of 
the cascade of the Rio de Atoyac. The adjacent region is 
covered with a dense tropical jungle, in which many species 



162 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



of flowers and trailing vines grow luxuriantly. The matted 
forest extends to the summits of the neighboring hills. 
Perhaps no other part of Mexico possesses a richer vegeta- 
tion than this portion of the route. It forms a striking con- 
trast to the dreary plains which the traveler will soon reach. 
The train now arrives at Atoyac (53^ miles) ; elevation, 
1,512 feet. The line crosses a bridge over the Rio de 
AtoyaCo This, like the other bridges along the route, is 
built of iron, with stone piers. Proceeding farther, several 
tunnels are passed, and both tobacco and sugar-cane are 
seen growing in the vicinity. 

The next station is Cordoba (65f miles), which lies at 
the altitude of 2,713 feet above the level of the Gulf. This 
town has about five thousand inhabitants, and is one mile 
distant from the railway. It is reached by horse-cars, and 
it has a small hotel. Cordoba is famous for its coffee-plan- 
tations, and the stranger will have no better opportunity in 

Mexico for visit- 
ing one of them. 
A day may be 
spent to advan- 
tage at Cordoba. 
Various kinds of 
fruit grow plenti- 
fully, and are sold 
at a very low price. 
A basket of two 
dozen oranges 
costs twenty - five 
cents, Avhereas the usual price on the table-land is three 
oranges for a medio (six and a quarter cents). Mexicans 
en route to the capital often lay m a large stock of pine- 
apples, bananas, and oranges at Cordoba, and take them to 
their homes, as the extortionate rates of freight on this 
railway render fruit very expensive in the City of Mexico. 




The Pineapple Plant. 



THE MEXICAN RAILWAY COMPANY. 163 

Most of the coffee consumed in Eastern Mexico grows in 
the vicinity of Cordoba. There are many valuable planta- 
tions, and a fev?- Americans have established themselves 
here. It may be remarked that the State of Vera Cruz 
produces more coffee than any other State in the Eepublic. 
Leaving Cordoba, the road makes a long bend and crosses 
the bridge of Metlac, built over a river of the same name. 
The scenery is magnificent, and the ravine, or barranca, 
of Metlac contains one of the most skillful pieces of engi- 
neering to be found in the country. The general plan of 
building the Mexican railways has been to wind around the 
bases of the several mountains, rather than to drive long 
tunnels or construct large bridges. Passing the hamlet of 
Fortin (70f miles), the next station is Orizaba (82 miles). 

ORIZABA. 

Population, 17,000 ; elevation, 4,028 feet. 

Hotels. — A la Borda (German), DiUcjendas, and Cuatro Naciones. 
Baths. — De Santa Eita on the main street ; very good. 
Horse-cars from the station to the hotels ; fare, a medio (6|^ cents). 
Hacks, 6 reales (75 cents) an hour. 

Orizaba is the present capital * of the State of Vera Cruz. 
It lies in a broad and very fertile valley. There is excel- 
lent pasturage in the vicinity, and fine cattle are raised. 
The staple products of the valley are tobacco and sugar- 
cane. There are several haciendas of the latter, thjs largest 
of which is at Jalapilla. Tobacco grows in the outskirts 
of the city in large quantities. Even church-yards have 
been turned to use for planting this article. During the 
Spanish domination, when the restrictions on trade were so 
oppressive, the cultivation of tobacco was confined by law 
to the district including Cordoba and Orizaba, and the 
Government employed inspectors to pull up any leaves of 
the plant that were found growing outside of it. 

* Jalapa was formerly the capital. 



164 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL, 

Places of Interest. — 1. The Parroquia and other churches. 2. The 
Paseo. 3. The Cerro (hill) del Borrego. 4. Jalapilla (sugar-mill), 5. The 
cascade of Rincon Grande. 6. The cascade of Barrio Nuevo. 

The Paseo is one of the most beautiful parks in Mexico. 
It is about a half-mile from the principal hotels. 

The Cerro del Borrego should be ascended. Its sum- 
mit commands a magnificent view. During the inva- 
sion, the French defeated the Mexicans here on June 13, 
1862, and the remains of the fortifications are seen to this 
day. There is a limestone-quarry at the base of the moun- 
tain. 

Jalapilla is a hamlet about a mile and a half south of 
the city. It lies in the midst of rich fields of sugar-cane. 
There is a large sugar-mill here, belonging to Senor Bringos, 
and the tourist will have an excellent opportunity of see- 
ing how sugar is manufactured. We may add that a 
much larger quantity of sugar could be produced in 
the valley of Orizaba than is now yielded, because only 
a small part of it is occupied by the sugar-cane. This 
remark would also apply to the greater part of the arable 
land in the State of Vera Cruz in regard to crops of other 
articles. 

This State ranks second in the annual production of 
sugar, Morelos being the first. The Emperor Maximilian 
resided a short time at Jalapilla after the French army had 
evacuated the caj)ital. Here he held the famous council to 
determine whether he should abdicate or not. 

The cascade of Rincon Grande is about a mile east of 
Jalapilla. There are several waterfalls about forty feet m 
height, which are surrounded by very luxuriant vegetation. 
There is another cascade {Barrio Nuevo) of smaller dimen- 
sions on the north side of the valley of Orizaba. 

Owing to the scarcity of ram m Mexico, waterfalls are 
very highly regarded. They are found chiefly in the tierra 
templada and in the '' foot-hills " of the Sierra Madre. The 



THE MEXICAN BAILWAY COMPANY. 165 

majestic peak of Orizaba is visible only from the eastern 
end of the city. An intervening ridge prevents the ob- 
server from seeing it in other quarters of the town. If the 
tourist will leave his hotel early enough to see the sun rise 
on the mountain, he will behold one of the grandest sights 
in Mexico. 

Most of the houses in Orizaba are one story high, with 
overhanging red-tiled roofs. The traveler will have a 
chance to examine the class of dwellings occupied by the 
poor people. They are constructed of all kinds of rub- 
bish, such as old boards, sugar-cane stalks, barrel-staves, 
sun-dried bricks, and pieces of matting. These huts are 
generally thatched with palm-leaves or with dried strips of 
the maguey, and the solid ground serves as a floor. The 
climate of Orizaba is temperate but very moist. Bull-fights 
take place on Sunday afternoons, the bull-ring, or plaza 
de toros, being in an old convent. Another large church is 
now used as a barracks for the garrison. There is a Ma- 
sonic lodge in the upper part of the same edifice. 

The stranger, by visiting the registrar's office {ofino 
pfiblico mas antiguo), can inspect some of the old Si^anish 
deeds written on parchment, with many abbreviations, dur- 
ing thQ time of Cortes. The mediaeval Spanish contains so 
many contractions as to be almost incomprehensible to the 
Mexican of to-day. For example, instead of writing q-u-e 
for the word que, meaning "■ which," in those days they 
wrote simply the letter q, with the addition of a semicir- 
cular curve, which was carried over to the first letter of the 
next word, giving the two words the appearance of a single 
one. Notwithstanding the age of these manuscripts, they 
are still in an excellent state of preservation. 

2. From Orizaba to Esperaxza (29 miles). 

Leaving Orizaba, the railroad traverses the flat plain, 
and passes the village of Horales, wliich boasts of a small 



166 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



1 



cotton-factory. The next station is Enurial (88|- miles). 
A Fairlie engine, which is constructed of two locomotives, 
with the tender on top, is now attached to the train. The 
grade soon becomes very heavy as the iron horse climbs the 
cumhres, or summits. Passing through several tunnels, 
the Barranca del Infiernillo is reached. This locality affords 
the most magnificent scenery along the entire route. The 
track is built on the edge of a precipice, and a roaring 
torrent is seen at the bottom of the rocky canon, six hun- 
dred feet below. The tourist may now look back on the 
broad valley, and trace the course of the winding railway, 
interspersed with bridges, and see the old diligence road in 
the distance, which is to-day given up to pack-animals. 
Trains of hurros, or donkeys, still transport the wares of 
the peasant to the neighboring villages. 

The next station is Maltrata (94^ miles), where the ele- 
vation is 5,550 feet. The volcano of Orizaba is visible from 
this point. It is, however, generally covered with clouds, 
except in the early morning. There are so many curves, 
and the ascending grade is so steep, that the train only 
makes about seven miles an hour in this part of the journey. 
Some maize is grown beyond Maltrata, but the country is 
barren for the most part. 

Bota (97-2- miles) is the next station. The line now 
makes another great bend around the steep slope of the 
mountain, and comes to Alta Luz (103 miles), a hamlet of 
several houses. If the observer will look back, he may see 
the village of Maltrata, with the track meandering across 
the plain, and, far in the distance, a glimpse of the valley 
of Orizaba may be obtained. 

The traveler has reached the tierra fria, or cold zone. 
The flora reminds one of the Kocky Mountains. Dwarf 
pines, spruces, and deciduous trees, with a few Alpine 
flowers, take the place of the luxuriant tropical vegetation 
of the " hot country " that has recently been traversed. 



THE MEXICAN RAILWAY COMPANY. 



167 



Blue limestone covers the country from Orizaba west- 
ward, and the region is adapted to grazing to some ex- 
tent. The next station is Boca del Monte, or "mouth 
of the mountain " (107^ miles), where the elevation is 
7,924 feet. 

now attained the level of the great 
This point, however, is not the high- 



The tourist has 
tahle-land of Mexico 
est on the line, the 
summit heing near 
Guadalupe, about 
eighty miles distant. 
The traveler crosses 
a flat plain for sev- 
eral miles, and. ar- 
rives at Esperanza 
(llli miles). 

The train stops 
thirty minutes for 
dinner. The east- 




This cut sTiows the zones of vegetation in going 
from the sea-level to the summit of the snow- 
clad peaks. 



ward and. westward passenger-trains meet here. The re- 
spective escorts of soldiers change cars, and are carried 
back to the termini of the road. A high wall surrounds 
the station, and a guard stands at each entrance. A small 
but well-kept hotel lies within the inclosure. It belongs 
to the railway company, and a French restaurateur is 
employed as manager. The nights and early mornings 
are very cool on the table-land, the thermometer usually 
falling to 40° Fahr., and occasionally below the freezing- 
point. The plain of Esperanza, which has an area of 
about forty-five square miles, is quite fertile. Wheat, bar- 
ley, and Indian corn are grown in abundance. If the 
tourist will stop over for a day, he may visit a fine liacicnda, 
or farm, at San Antonio de Abajo, about two miles distant. 
It belongs to Don Andres Gutierrez, and is valued at 
$300,000. The hacienda contains houses for \hQ. peons, or 



168 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

day-laborers, barns, stock-yards, blacksmith and carpenter 
shops, etc. There is also a quaint little church, which bears 
the date of A. D, 1772 on the belfry. The hacendado, or 
proprietor, employs a priest to officiate, and also to teach 
the children of his peons, who number several hundred. 
There are a gi'eat many horses, mules, cattle, and sheep on 
the farm, and the owner uses plows of American manufac- 
ture. 

The traveler has an excellent view from Esperanza of 
the volcano of Orizaba, which rises behind the Sierra Negra. 
The mountain can be ascended from this ]Doint. It is dif- 
ficult, however, to procure horses here, and accordingly 
the tourist is recommended to make the ascent from San 
Andres, about sis miles distant by trail, but fifteen miles 
by the railway. 

The peak of Orizala is 17,200 feet above the sea-level, 
and is the highest mountain in Mexico, with the exception 
of Popocatepetl. There were violent eruptions in 1545 and 
1566, but the volcano has been quiet ever since. It was 
reported to be smoking in April, 1883. There is no diffi- 
cult climbing on the mountain, but the ascent is exceedingly 
laborious on account of the steepness of the snow-clad cone. 
It is almost impossible for the traveler coming direct from 
Vera Cruz to ascend Orizaha. He should spend several 
days on the table-land, and accustom his lungs to the rare- 
fied atmosphere, before starting out for the summit of the 
peak. The tourist can ride to a cave Just below the timber- 
line, which is about 13,500 feet above the level of the sea, 
and pass the night there. Guides, blankets, and provisions 
for two days must be taken. As the clouds rise and often 
cover the mountain early in the forenoon, the traveler 
should leave the cave by 4 a. m. if possible. About five 
hours will be required to reach the summit. Very few 
persons thus far have climbed Orizaha. 

An excursion to Oaxaca and Mitla may be made from 



THE MEXICAN RAILWAY COMPANY. 169 

Esperanza. A horse-railroad extends from the latter place 
to Tehuacan, thirty-one miles distant. A diligence is then 
rnn to Teconiabapa, about forty miles farther. Thence the 
tourist must travel by horseback via the villages of Teotit- 
lan, Cues, Dominguillo, Joyacatlan, San Juan, and Etla, to 
Oaxaca, about ninety miles distant. Tehuacan (Hotels, Dili- 
gencias and FerrocarriX) has a poj)ulation of 10,000. ■ The 
traveler is advised to procure horses in this place. There 
is a meson (inn) at Tecomahapa, but the other settlements 
being very small are destitute of hotel accommodations. 
Tlie nights must be spent in the huts of the natives. Par- 
ties making this trip are advised to carry provisions Avith 
them. The Mexican Southern Eailroad will eventually 
connect Tehuacan with Oaxaca. The latter city is de- 
scribed in Section VII, and the reader is referred to the 
chapter on ruins in Part First for an account of Mitla. 

3. From Esperanza to Puebla via Apizaco, 94f miles. 

Leaving Esperanza, the traveler sees the snow-capped 
summits of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl on the left, and 
the pyramidal peak of MaUnche on the extreme right. The 
landscape reminds him of the parks of Colorado. The 
railroad crosses the broad plain, and the station of San 
Andres (120^ miles) is reached. Horse-cars run to the 
town, about five miles distant. It has already been stated 
that the volcano of Orizaba may be ascended from this 
point (p. 168). The summit is about fifteen miles dis- 
tant. 

The train now passes some maize-fields and the salt lakes 
of El Salado, and arrives at Rinconada (139 miles), eleva- 
tion 7,731 feet. The country soon becomes fertile again, 
and the next station is San Marcos (150^ miles). Another 
railway crosses the track here, extending to Puebla on the 
south, and to San Juan de Llanos on the north. It will 
be completed in the autumn of 1884:. Proceeding farther, 



lYO 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



1 



the train stops at Huamantla (161 miles). The trayeler is 
now in the State of Tlaxcala, the former home of the great 
rivals to the Aztecs, whose services Cortes secured on the 
march from Vera Cruz to the valley of Mexico, thereby 
greatly increasing his forces. Much Indian corn is culti- 
vated in the neighborhood, and the maguey, or aloe, and 
nopal, or cactus-tree, are used as fences. The picturesque 
mountain of Malinche lies behind the town. It was named 

after Doiia Marina, the 
interpreter of the Span- 
ish army under Cortes. 

The next station is Api- 
zaco (176f miles), eleva- 
tion 7,912 feet. A branch 
line leads from this point 
to Puehla, 47 kilometres, 
or 29^ miles. It was 
opened on September 16, 
1869. 

Leaving Apizaco, the 
road makes a long curve 
and runs southward to 
Santa Ana {10^ miles). 
The mountain of Malin- 
che remains in full view. 
It is often snow-capped, and the natives bring the snow 
to the train and sell it in glasses mixed with lemon-juice. 
Maguey, maize, and wheat grow in large quantities along 
the line. The grade is downward all the way to Pue- 
Ua. 

The tourist soon comes in sight of the majestic snow- 
clad peaks of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. The former 
has an elevation of 10,500 feet above the broad valley. The 
next station is Panzacola (21f miles), and a half-hour's 
ride brinsfs the tourist to Puehla. 




The Nopal. 



THE MEXICAN RAILWAY COMPANY. 171 

PUEBLA. 

Population, 64,588 ; elevation, '7,201 feet. 
Hotels. — Espanol, DUigencias, Del Crisio, Del Recrco. 
Restaurants and cafes on the northern and western sides of the Plaza 
ma^or. 

Baths, adjoining the Pasco viejo (1 real). 

Carriages, 50 cents an hour ; on Sunday and feast-days, 75 cents. 

Pueola was founded on September 28, 1531. The city 
is par excellence an old Spanish settlement. It is often 
called Puehla de los Angeles, or town of the angels. Since 
May 5, 1862, the city has been named Puebla de Zaragoza, 
after a general of that name, who defeated the French on 
the date above mentioned. The churches are finer than 
those of any other Mexican town, and the streets are well 
paved. The houses are usually built with two stories, and 
arcades are found on the Plaza mayor. There are twenty- 
six public squares and two parks in Puebla. 

The adjoining city of Cholula was the headquarters of 
Cortes for several months during the Conquest. Pictures 
of some of the battles between the Spaniards and the na- 
tives may be seen on the walls of the hotels. Blankets, or 
zarapes, hats of straw and felt, soap, thread, crockery, and 
glass are manufactured in large quantities in PueUa. Many 
fine stores are found in the city, and the traveler can pur- 
chase ornaments of the so-called Mexican onyx, or tecali, 
which occurs in the neighboring marble-quarries. It is 
composed chiefly of carbonate of lime. 

The stranger should ascend one of the towers of the 
cathedral for a view of the city. The scene is one of sur- 
passing beauty. Malinclie lies on the eastern side of the 
fertile plain, and the volcano of Popocatepetl rises about 
twenty-five miles to the westward. Tourists can ascend the 
latter mountain from Puehla. Guides, blankets, and pro- 
visions for three days, must be taken ; but it will be more 
convenient to make the ascent from Amecameca, on the 



1Y2 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



1 



western side of the ridge. (This trip is described in the 
section on the Morelos Eailway.) 

Places of Interest. — 1. The Cathedral (observe the wood-carvings and 
Mexican onyx-work). 2. The Church of San Francisco. 3. The Church 
of La Compania. 4. The Church of San Cristobal. 5. The Museum. 6. 
The College, or Colegio del Estado. V. The Paseo Nuevo and Paseo Viejo. 
8. The Pyramid of Cholula. 9. Port GuoAalupe. 




Popocatepetl. 

There are several other churches, but they are hardly 
worth a visit. We have not space to describe all of the 
above buildings. The reader is referred to the chapter on 
ruins for an account of the pyramid at Cholula. At the 
time of the arrival of the Spaniards, Cortes states that the 
city of Cholula contained 20,000 houses and about 150,000 
inhabitants. To-day the population is less than 10,000. 



THE MEXICAN RAILWAY COMPANY. 173 

A church built by Cortes, and containing some quaint his- 
torical paintings, is yet standing. Cholida can also boast 
of a park. The town has an altitude of 6,906 feet accord- 
ing to Humboldt, or about 300 feet lower than Puehla. It 
is reached by carriage and by horse-cars (fare, first class, 
twenty-five cents). The distance is seven miles. Maguey 
and wheat are grown to a large extent in the vicinity, 

4. From Puebla to the City of Mexico. Distance, 115| miles. Two trains 

daily. 

Leaving PueUa, the road has an ascending grade to Ajn- 
zaco. The heaviest is near the latter place. From Aptzaco 
the land rises slightly, and the track crosses a gently undu- 
lating plain covered with extensive maguey plantations, 

Guadalupe (ISG^- miles) is the next station. The high- 
est point of the Mexican Eailway is near by. It is 8,333 
feet above the Gulf of Mexico, This is the most elevated 
station in the Eepublic, except where the Mexican National 
Eailway traverses the sierra between Toluca and the capi- 
tal. The summit of the latter route is 9,974 feet. At 
various points of the road the tourist will see soldiers, wear- 
ing gray uniforms, and armed with carbines and sabers. 
They are the Guardia rural, or mounted patrols, who ac- 
company the diligences, and protect the smaller towns from 
the depredations of robbers. 

Passing Soltepec (193f miles) ; and Apam (205| miles), 
which has an elevation of 8,226 feet, the tram reaches Irolo 
(215^ miles). A tramway leads from the last station to Pa- 
cliuca, thirty-seven miles distant. Pacliuca is one of the 
oldest mining towns in Mexico, and many of its mines are 
worked at the present day ; but, as the daily passenger- 
train from Vera Cruz and Apizaco does not connect with 
the tramway, the tourist is advised to proceed directly to 
the capital, and make an excursion to Pacliuca, taking the 
outward morning train, (For description, see Section III.) 



174 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

Leaving Irolo, where the elevation is 8,046 feet, the road- 
bed descends gradually toward the City of Mexico. The 
next station is Ometusco (32I5 miles), following which comes 
La Palma (225^ miles). 

Tourists will observe that the houses in the villages on 
the table-land are built of large, sun-dried bricks, called 
adobe. The country is sparsely populated, and the natives 
live together in towns or hamlets. It is very rare to see a 
dwelling isolated from any settlement. 

Passing Otumha (229 miles), famous in history as the 
scene of a battle in which the Spanish invaders defeated the 
Aztecs, on July 8, 1520, we reach San Juan Teotihuacan 
(236 miles). The latter place is celebrated for its two pyra- 
mids, that of the Sun and that of the Moon. They may 
be seen from the train, but a visit to these teocallis will re- 
pay the traveler. As the town lies about one and a half 
mile from the railroad, and as there is neither hotel nor 
restaurant in it, the tourist must continue the journey to 
the national capital, and make an excursion to San Juan 
TeoWiuacan by the morning train, returning in the even- 
ing. (The pyramids are described in the chapter on 
ruins.) The next station is Tepexpam (243 miles), and 
the track soon enters the far-famed valley of Mexico. The 
road skirts the Lake of Texcoco, and presently the magnifi- 
cent snow-capped mountains are seen on the south. Pass- 
ing the town of Guadalupe, the traveler arrives at the rail- 
way-station of Buena Vista, one of the suburbs of the City 
of Mexico. 

An express-agent meets the train, and will deliver bag- 
gage to any part of the city. He will also take charge of 
the keys, as trunks and boxes must be opened and examined 
for the purpose of ascertaining whether they contain tax- 
able articles before being allowed to enter the city. The 
ofi&ce of the express is in the Hotel Iturbide, and the charge 
is twenty-five cents (two reales) for each package. 



SECTION III. 
The City of Mexico and Environs. 

PoPCJLATioN of the capital in 1883, according to the best estimates, 
225,000. Elevation, 7,347 feet, or 2,240 metres, above the sea-level. 

Hotels. — San Carlos, Jturbide, Gllloiv, Comonfort, Gicadiola, JVacional, 
Europa, Del Bazar, Universal, Jispiriiu Santo, Gran Hotel Central, Ortega, 
San Affitstin, Humboldt, and several others. 

Mesones (inns). — De Sayi Francisco, De la Estrella, De San Antojiio, 
Del Picadero, and many others. 

Restaurants. — Iturbide, De la Concordia, Cafe Anglais, Maison Doree, 
Cafe de Paris. (Fee in restaurants, one medio (6J cents) for each person.) 

Post-Office: — In the Calle de la Moneda. 

Telegraph-Offices in the railway-stations. Central office of the Gov- 
ernment telegraph line in the Callejon del Esplriiu SaiUo No. 5. Office 
hours, 8 A. M. to 8 p. M. ; on feast-days from 9 a. M. to 12 m. Office of the 
Vera Cruz Commercial fine, at No. 14 Del Refugio. Office of the old line 
to Jalisco, in Los Bajos de San Agustin No. 2. 

Express-Office in the Hotel Iturbide. Wells, Fargo & Co. have also an 
agency in the city. 

Theatres. — JVacional, in the Calle de Vcrgara ; Principal, Calle del 
Coliseo ; Arbeii, in the Calle de San Felipe Neri. 

Baths adjoining the Teatro Nadonal (the others can not be recom- 
mended). 

General Diligence-Office, in the rear of the Hotel Iturbide. 

Carriages, first, second, and third class. — First class, carrying blue flags, 
$1 an hour on work-days, and $1.50 on feast-days. Second class, with red 
flags, 75 cents and $1 on work-days and feast-days respectively. Third class, 
with white flags, from 6 A. m. to 10 p. m., 50 cents, and from 10 p. m. to 6 a. m., 
$1 an hour on all days. Public carriages have their number and a tariff of 
charges printed in Spanish posted in a conspicuous manner inside. The driver 
is obliged to hand the passenger entering his carriage a paper containing 
the tariff, his name and number, and the place where he belongs. In hiring 
a vehicle, one quarter of an hour is the minimum that can be paid for. 

Saddle-horses, $2 for the afternoon. 



176 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

Banks. — London, Mexico, and South America, CapucMnas No. 3 ; Na- 
cional, corner {esquina) of San Francisco and San Juan de Letran Streets ; 
Mercantil Mezicano, San Ac/usiin No. 15 ; Bolsa Mercantil Ifexicana, Puen- 
te del Espiritu Santo No. 6. 

Societies. — Mexican Geographical and Statistical Society, Calle de San 
Andres No. 11 ; Mexican Academy, Ccdle de Ifedina No. 6 ; American club- 
house at the suburb of La Piedad ; German club, corner {esquina) del Cole- 
gio de Niiias and Independencia Streets ; French Philharmonic and Dramatic 
Society, 2'^'^ de Plateros ; French Circle (reading-room), Antigua Lonja, 
Bajos de la Lispntacion ; Hunting and Fishing Club, Sta. Isabel No. 9. 

Railway stations at Buena Vista, for the Mexican Railway Company, 
and the Mexican Central Railroad Company ; at Colonia, for the Mexican 
National Railway Company; at San Ldzaro for the Morelos Railway Company. 

IIORSE-CAES, of first and second class, start from the Plaza mayor at 
intervals of ten, fifteen, thirty, and sixty minutes, for all parts of the city 
and suburbs not exceeding ten miles distant. (See time-tables.) 

Diplomatic Corps. — The United States, France, Spain, Guatemala, Sal- 
vador, Honduras, and Chili are represented by envoys extraordinary and 
ministers plenipotentiary at the capital. Germany, Italy, and Belgium 
have ministers resident. Formerly Great Britain had diplomatic relations 
with Mexico, but they were suspended on account of the failure to pay a 
public debt. During the year 1883, Senor Mariscal, the ex-Secretary of 
Foreign Affairs, went to Loudon and re-established diplomatic intercourse 
with England The foreign ministers live in the suburb of San Cosme. 

Newspapers. — Single copies, one medio (6J cents). The Two Republics, 
published semi-weekly, is the only journal in English. The Financier is 
printed half in Spanish and half in English. Besides these, several papers 
are published in Spanish and French, such as the Monitor Rejjuhlicano, 
Diario OJicial, and others. 

Bull-fights, at the suburbs of Himachal and Cuautitlan, on Sunday 
afternoons. 

The City of Mexico is the capital of the Eepublic. 
The name is deriyed from Mexitli, who was the Aztec 
war-god. Under the name of TenocTititlan it was the capi- 
tal of the ancient empire of Anahuac. The story of its 
origin is as follows : The Aztecs, while wandering about 
the country, met the Colhuans, a rival tribe. A battle en- 
sued, and the former, being defeated, were pursued by the 
latter. The Aztecs marched to the valley of Mexico, which 



THE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 177 

was then mostly covered by lagoons. An oracle had com- 
manded them not to found a city till they had come to a 
spot where an eagle would be seen standing on a rock. 
Upon exploring the shores of the lagoon, the Aztec rovers 
beheld the long-sought eagle resting on a cactus, which 







The Volcanoes of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. 

grew out of a crevice in the solid rock. Accordingly, they 
called their city TenocMitlan, which signifies a ''cactus 
upon a rock." 

The device of an eagle, with a serpent in its beak, stand- 
ing on a cactus that grows out of a rock, has become the 
escutcheon of Mexico. It is found on the national flag, as 
well as on the gold and silver coins. 

The present capital lies in latitude 19° 25' 45' north, 
and longitude 99° 5' 15" west of Grreenwich. It is built on 



178 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

what was formerly an island in the Lake of Tezcuco.* The 
ancient city is said to have been founded on July 18, 1325. 
Some of the houses were constructed on piles, like the pre- 
historic Swiss lake-dwellings. In order to protect the capi- 
tal from the inundations of the surrounding lakes, a system 
of dikes was established by the Aztecs, the remnants of 
which exist to the present day. In 1466 Montezuma I, 
after a disastrous flood in Tenochtitlan, ordered a dike to 
be constructed, which was 39,360 f feet long and 65 feet 
wide. 

At the time of the Conquest the ancient capital was en- 
tered by the Spaniards under Cortes on the 8th day of No- 
vember, 1519. After a residence of about seven months, he 
was compelled to evacuate it. In the following year, with 
the aid of brigantines on Lake Texcoco, which were built 
especially for the purpose, in the neighboring hills, the Con- 
queror attacked and besieged the city. The siege lasted 
seventy-five days, when the Aztecs surrendered to the in- 
vaders. Soon afterward the Spaniards destroyed Tenoch- 
Htlan, and built a capital of their own on the same site, 
which has since borne the name of Mexico. Cortes made 
a great mistake in founding the modern city on the site of 
the old one, which was situated on soft ground, and in- 
volved an expensive system of dikes and causeways. It 
would have been preferable to have selected an elevated 
spot in the vicinity, like Tacubaya, about six miles south of 
the capital. Scarcely a vestige remains of the ancient me- 
tropolis. Several Aztec monuments, such as the calendar and 
sacrificial stones, and a few idols, have been dug up on the 
site of TenocMUlan ; but the ruins of not even a single house 
or temple can be found to-day. These relics were practically 
incapable of destruction. Accordingly, they were buried. 

The teocalK, or pyramid of the ancient capital, was 
much smaller than those of San Juan Teotihuacan and 

* Now spelled Texcoco. f About seven and a half miles. 



TEE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 179 

(Jholula. It was ninety feet on each side at the base, and 
decreased as it advanced in height to a surface of thirty feet 
square. There were two altars on the summit. Thus much 
for the history of Tenoclititlcm. 

The valley of Mexico, near the center of which lies 
the capital, is about forty-two miles long and about thirty 
miles wide. It contains six lakes, which were originally 
one large lagoon. Their names are — beginning at the 
south — Xochimilco, Chalco, Texcoco, San Cristobal, Xalto- 
can, and Zumpango. The last-named lake is the highest, 
while Texcoco is the lowest and largest. Lake Texcoco has 
heretofore received the overflow of the others. Their 
aggregate area is about twenty-two square leagues. The 
water of these lakes is salt, except Chalco and Xocliimilco. 
They are probably the highest bodies of salt-water in the 
world. 

The climate is temperate, the mean annual temperature 
being 60° Fahr. There is considerable moisture in winter 
and during the rainy season, from June to September. 
The most changeable weather occurs in February. May is 
the hottest month. During the entire year the early morn- 
ing is cold, the thermometer generally falling to about 40'' 
Fahr., and occasionally sinking below the freezing-point. 
There are no fireplaces nor hot-air furnaces in the hotels 
of Mexico, which circumstance renders a stranger uncom- 
fortable during damp and cold weather. Travelers are 
cautioned to be extremely careful to avoid taking cold on 
reaching the capital. Many of the buildings are old, and 
the doors and windows do not fit tightly. 

Mexico can hardly be called a healthy city. The great 
desideratum of the capital is proper drainage. This sub- 
ject has been investigated by the ablest minds in the coun- 
try from time immemorial. During the Spanish domi- 
nation the dikes and causeways often proved insufficient to 
protect the city from floods. Since the foundation of the 



180 CITIES AND EOUTES OF TRAVEL. 

capital, or since the Conquest, there have been fire great 
inundations, viz., in 1553, 1580, 1604, 1607, and 1629-'34. 

In 1607 the Viceroy Salinas began the artificial drain- 
age of the lakes, by constructing a canal at HueJiuetoca, 
on the northern side of the valley. This canal, or de- 
sague, is described at length in the section on the Mexican 
Central Railroad, which now passes through the remains 
of it. The Indian system of dikes had been temporarily 
abandoned, and the canal proving a failure, the result was 
a terrible inundation in 1629, which lasted five years. 
During this period communication was made by means 
of canoes, the seat of government was removed to one of 
the suburbs, trade was at a stand-still, and the distress and 
misery of the lower classes baffled all description. It was 
deemed advisable to return to the dike system, which has 
been preserved ever since. 

Eor many years the Plaza mayor was only three or 
four feet above the level of Lake Texcoco. The level of this 
lake varies from year to year, and there is now a gauge on 
the Plaza mayor to indicate the height of its waters.- 
Owing to evaporation the surface of the lake is much lower 
than during the reign of the viceroys. In the winter of 
1882-83 it was about six feet helow the Plaza mayor. 
There are no cellars in the City of Mexico, and water is 
reached a few feet below the street-pavement. The soil is 
so soft that a solidly cemented foundation of lime and 
stone is used for the larger buildings. 

In 1882 an American company entered into a contract 
with the Mexican Government to drain the valley of Mex- 
ico, agreeing to deposit a bond of $200,000 as a guarantee 
to carry out the scheme. The last session of Congress, 
however, declared this contract forfeited on account of the 
failure to file the bond. 

It has been suggested that a thorough system of drain- 
age for the capital would do more harm than good, for the 



THE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 181 

reason that the heavier buildings might settle so much as 
to render them unsafe. The early Spanish historians nar- 
rate that, before the Conquest, the yalley of Mexico was 
covered with dense forests. The foreign invaders made 
war on these forests, as did the Puritans in New England, 
and to-day, with the exception of the magnificent grove of 
Cliapultcpec, there are only a few rows of trees of recent 
growth along the causeways.* 

The houses in the capital are built of heavy masonry, 
with stairways of stone, and with roofs and floors of brick 
and cement. Each building includes one or more open 
court-yards, or patios. These patios are either paved with 
flag-stones, or planted with flowers and shrubbery, and 
adorned with fountains and statuary. In the suburbs the 
dwellings do not generally exceed one story in height, but 
in the heart of the city they frequently rise to three. The 
entrance of each house from the street is by a single ports 
cocMre, which is closed at night, and attended by a porter, 
who occupies an adjoining room, and who is held respon- 
sible for the entries and exits. 

The capital is virtually fire-proof, it being next to im- 
possible to set fire to a Mexican house. 

In dwellings of more than one story, the upper floor, on 
account of the higher ceilings, is always preferred as a resi- 
dence, although it commands the highest rents. The 
ground-floor is commonly occupied for business purposes — 
e. g., for stables, store-houses, or workshops. 

There are no aristocratic streets nor quarters in the 
City of Mexico, the homes of both the upper and lower 

* The Mexican Government has recently made a contract with Oscar A. 
Drorge to plant 2,000,000 trees in the valley of Mexico within four years, 
500,000 a year, for $200,000. The contractor agrees to put in annually 
80,000 ash, 35,000 willows, 12,000 poplars, 60,000 eucalypti, 60,000 acacias, 
and other varieties, in plantations of from 50,000 to 100,000 ; and to receive 
in his nurseries three graduates annually of the Agricultural School. 



182 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

classes being scattered over the metropolis, and oftentimes 
being found under the same roof. 

The capital is indifferently watered by two aqueducts 
containing respectively clear and muddy water. 

The supply is conducted by pipes to numerous tanks 
and open fountains located in all parts of the city, whence 
it is distributed for family use by a licensed corps of agua- 
dores, or water-carriers. Their charges are from two cents 
to twelve and a half cents a load, according to the distance 
of the fountain from the place of delivery. 

The public edifices and business houses are lighted with 
gas of inferior quality. In private dwellings kerosene-oil 
and stearine candles are generally used. Some quarters of 
the city are illuminated with lamps of gasoline or petro- 
leum. Eecently, the electric light has been employed on 
the Plaza mayor and adjacent streets. 

Places of Interest. — 1. The Cathedral and El Sagrario. 2. The Palace 
and Maximilian's Coach. 3. The Museum {El Museo Nadonal). 4. The 
Academy of San Carlos. 5. The Mining School {Colegio de Mineria). 6. 
The Mint (Casa de Monedd). '1. The Church of La Santissima. 8. The 
Church of Santo Domingo. 9. The Church of Za Pro/esa. 10. The Church 
of Santa Teresa. 11. The Church of San Fernando. 12. The Convent of 
San Francisco. 13. The National Library {La Biblioteca Nadonal). 14. 
The Park {La Alameda). 15. The Tivoli Gardens. 16. The Drive 
{Paseo de la Reforma). lY. The Canal {El Paseo de la Viga). 18. Alva- 
rado's Leap {El Salto de Alvarado). 19. The Reform School. 

In the Environs. — 1. Chapultepec. 2. Atzcapalzalco and the Noche-triste 
tree. 3. Tacuhaya (Military Academy and private residences). 4. Gnadalupe 
(church and chapel). 5. La Piedad {Al Fresco, the American Club). 6. San 
Angel. All of which are reached by horse-cars from the Plaza mayor. 

We have not space enough to give a minute account of 
each one of the above objects of interest ; accordingly, a 
brief reference will be made to them in the above order : 

1. The tourist should ascend one of the towers (200 
feet high) of the Cathedral for a view of the city (fee, one 
real). This edifice was commenced in 1573, and finished 



184 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

in 1667, at a cost of 11,750,000. It coYers a space of about 
432 X 200 feet. This Cathedral is the largest in North 
America. Some of the paintings within are said to be the 
work of Murillo. The Emperor IturMde is buried in one 
of the chapels. The Aztec temple, or teocalli, formerly 
occupied the site of the Cathedral. The famous Caleis'DAe- 
Stone leans against the wall of this building. It is twelve 
feet in diameter, three feet thick, and weighs twenty-five 
tons. The Sagrario has a beautifully carved fagade. Just 
east of it is a monument erected to the memory of the dis- 
tinguished engineer Enrico Martinez, which contains a 
gauge to register the level of Lake Texcoco ia the pedestal. 
2. The Palace, which is built on the site of that of 
Montezuma, is the largest building in Mexico, the front 
measuring 675 feet. It contains the Embassadors' Hall, or 
Sola de Emhajadores, and Maximilian's Coach. The for- 
mer is a room about 310x30 feet, with a throne at the 
southern end for the President and his Cabinet. It has, 
among other objects, full-length joortraits by Segredo and 
other Mexican artists of the heroes of the War of Inde- 
pendence, such as Hidalgo, Morelos, Allende, and others ; 
also portraits of Juarez, Diaz, and Washington, and a large 
painting of the great battle of PueUa, of May 5, 1862. 
Maximiliazst's Coach is in a room on the ground-floor, 
near the center of the Palace. The body of the vehicle is 
painted dark red. The wheels are gilded, and the interior 
is lined with white-silk brocade, with trimmings of heavy 
silver thread. There is no other coach of equal magnifi- 
cence in the Western World. It surpasses in elegance the 
imperial carriages of Eussia. Strangers should not fail to 
see it. The doors of the Embassadors' Hall and of the 
room containing the coach are always locked. The keys 
may be obtained at the office of the Governor of the Pal- 
ace, which is near the middle door of the fa9ade. (A 
fee of one real should be paid to the mozo who shows 



THE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 185 



the traveler the coach, and two reales to the servant who 
opens the door of the Sola de Emhaj adores.) 

The Cathedral and 
Palace are situated on 
the Plaza mayor, in 
the center of which is 
the zocalo. 

3. The Museum 
contains the sacrificial 
stone and many idols 
on the ground-floor; 
and Maximilian's sil- 
ver service, several 
portraits, a large col- 
lection of Mexican cu- 
riosities, chiefly pot- 
tery, and photographs 
of the ruins of Yuca- 
tan and Chiapas, are 
found on the second story. It is to be regretted that the 
latter part of the Museum is open to the public only on 




Quetzalcoatl. 




Feathered Serpent. 
These idols are in the patio of the Museum. 



186 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 




Sundays from 10 a. m. to 1 p. m., Tuesdays from 10 A. m. 
to 13 M., and Thursdays from 3 to 5 p. m. 

The court-yard is always open to visitors. The sacri- 
ficial stone {Piedra de los sacrificios) is the principal ob- 
ject of interest. It is 8f feet in diameter, 2f feet high, and 

27|- feet in circumference. It 
was found in the Plaza mayor on 
December 17, 1791. The num- 
ber of human beings sacrificed on 
this celebrated stone is estimated 
at sixty thousand ! 

The manner of sacrifice was 
as follows : The victim was made 
to lie down, his feet and hands 
were held by four priests in gaudy 
attire, while a fifth pierced his 
breast with a razor of itztli, or 
volcanic glass. The latter then 
inserted his hand into the wound, 
and, tearing out the heart, threw 
it at the foot of the adjoining 
idol. The reader is referred to 
Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, 
vol. i, pages 74-86, 
for a full descrip- 
tion of human sac- 
rifices. We have 
not space to de- 
scribe the serpent- 
idols and other objects, the number of which is forty-seven. 
Small catalogues in Spanish are sold at the door. It may 
be said that the collections made by M. Charnay in South- 
ern Mexico, through the liberality of Pierre Lorillard, Esq., 
of New York, are in the museum, although not on exhibi- 
tion, with the exception of a few objects. It was the pur- 




Teoyaomiqui. 



THE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 187 

pose of M. Charnay to send his collections of antiquities 
to Paris, but the Mexican Congress refused to pass a bill 
allowing the articles to be taken out of the country. 

4. The Academy of San Carlos is the only academy 
of the fine arts in the country, except one at Guadalajara. 
It contains a large number of paintings and some plaster 
casts of well-known statues. Most of the pictures are the 
work of foreign artists, such as Zurharan, Murillo, Ru- 
bens, Correggio, and Velasquez. Some of them have been 
painted by Mexicans, and possess considerable merit. The 
principal native artists are Jose and Luis Juarez, Cabrera, 
Parra, and Baltazar de Ecliave. Unfortunately, there is 
no catalogue of the pictures. An art-school is connected 
with the academy. ( Vide Chapter XXII. ) 

5. The Mining School was considered by Humboldt 
as one of the finest buildings in the country. It occupies 
a lot 300 X 340 feet, and has collections of rocks, minerals, 
and fossils, chiefly from Mexico. It cost 11,500,000. 

6. The Mint is the oldest in Mexico. It is open from 
8 A. M. to 5 p. M. 

7. The Church of La Santissima is noted for the ex- 
quisite carvings on the faQade. 

8. The Church of Santo Domingo, in a square of the 
same name, possesses beautiful gilt wood-work, some old 
paintings, and a wooden model of the Saviour, in a recum- 
bent attitude, and wearing a crown of thorns. Persons 
entering the church kiss the toe of this figure in the same 
manner as devout Koman Catholics kiss the statue of St. 
Peter at Eome. A table stands near the image to receive 
offerings (limosnas). The ruins of a convent, overgrown 
with weeds, are in the rear of the church. The Custom- 
House and Medical School are situated on the eastern side 
of the Plaza de Santo Domiyigo. The latter was once used 
by the Inquisition, and it now has a library and anatomical 
museum.. 



188 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

11. The Churcli of Sait Feenando contains the ashes 
of the unfortunate Generals Mejia and Miramon. 

16. The Paseo de la Reforma (sometimes called El 
Paseo de Bucareli), or "Empress Drive," leads from the 
Alameda to Cliapultepec. Statues of Oliarles IV oi Spain, 
Christopher Columbus, and President Juarez, have been 
erected on the Paseo. The fashionable hour for driving is 
from 5 to 6 P. m. 

17. The Caistal, adjoining the Paseo de la Viga, pre- 
sents a busy scene in the early morning. The Indians 
bring their fruits and vegetables to market, and the canal 
is crowded with their rafts and canoes. The tourist should 
hire a canoe and visit either Lake Texcoco, about three 
miles distant, or the " vegetable " gardens, a mile and a half 
from the terminus of the " Viga " horse-car track. A party 
of three or four persons may employ an Indian to paddle 
them to the gardens for the sum of one dollar. There is 
no tariff of charges, and a bargain must be made. Sailing 
through the narrow canals cut in the marshy soil, where 
fruits, vegetables, and flowers grow abundantly, the traveler 
may form some idea of the ancient aspect of the Venice of 
the New World. The chinampas, or so-called floating isl- 
ands, which have always excited the wonder of foreigners, 
are never seen at the present day. They were formed of 
small masses of earth, covered with herbs, and held togeth- 
er by roots, and were detached from the shore of the lagoon 
by the waves during stormy weather. These gardens are 
known to have been in use as far back as the end of the 
fourteenth century. They were afterward artificially con- 
structed by making rafts of reeds, rushes, roots, and brush- 
wood, and covering these with black mold naturally im- 
pregnated with muriate of soda, but gradually j^uri fie d from 
the salt and rendered fertile by washing it with the water 
of the lake. Some of the chinampas were movable and 
driven about by the winds, but others were anchored or at- 



THE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 189 

taclied to the shore, and were towed or pushed with poles 
from one spot to another. The Indians occasionally built 
huts on these cliinampas, and are said to have raised vege- 
tables on them. 

18. Alvaeado's Leap is marked by a small bridge in 
the Calle de los Hombres Iliistres, just west of the Alame- 
da. The Sa7i Cosme horse-cars pass the spot. This street 
was formerly a causeway leading from the capital toward 
the mainland, over which the Spaniards passed in the 
evacuation of the city on the memorable noclie triste, or 
*'sad night" of July 1, 1520. The portable bridge over a 
breach in the causeway had been destroyed, and Alvarado, 
unwilling to plunge into the waters of the lake, paused 
upon the brink for a moment. Eesting his long lance on 
the ground, he succeeded in leaping across the gap, to the 
great astonishment of both the Spaniards and Aztecs. This 
place has ever since been known as the Salto de Alvarado. 
As the width of the breach is not given by the chroniclers 
of the time, the reader can have no means of judging how 
skillful a pole-vaulter this Spanish warrior may have been. 

A card of admission must be obtained at the Palace for 
permission to enter the castle of Chapultepec* During 
the French invasion the castle was occupied by Maximilian, 
that person ator of Napoleon's dream of empire in the West- 
ern World. The view from Chapultepec is one of surpass- 
ing beauty, and the grounds contain a magnificent grove 
consisting chiefly of cedars draped with Spanish moss. 
One of the trees has been named after Ifonteznma. The 
stranger is advised to hire an open carriage by the hour, 
and drive to Chapultepec and the neighboring town of 
Tactihaya, visiting the Military School and stately villas if 
possible. 

The celebrated Noche-tkiste tree is situated in the vil- 
lage of Popotla, near an old church. Cortes is said to have 
* Chapultepec means " grasshopper's hill." 



190 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



sat under this tree and cried over his misfortunes, after 
the disastrous retreat of the Spaniards during the night 
of the evacuation. The tree is known to the Indians as 
the ahuehuete, and is called a sahino in Spanish. It is a 
species of cedar, and is ten feet in diameter at the base and 




The Noche-triste Tree. 



about forty feet high. An iron railing surrounds it. The 
Atzcapotzalco horse-cars run through the Riviera de San 
Cosme, passing Alvarado's Leap, the houses of the foreign 
legations, the Tivoli Gardens, the School of Agriculture, 
the Tlaxpana aqueduct, and the noche-triste tree, before 



THE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 191 

reaching their destination. This aqueduct was built by the 
Spaniards, and contains the agua delgada, or soft water. 
It has nine hundred arches of about fifteen feet in height, 
each of which is said to have cost $1,000. At San Cosyne 
the aqueduct terminates, and the water is conducted under- 
ground in pipes to the heart of the city. 

The causeway that leads to Popotla and Atzcapotzalco 
is bordered on either side with a deep ditch into which the 
water drains and becomes stagnant. The surrounding re- 
gion, which is now much lower than the causeway, was 
formerly a part of the great Mexican lagoon. Many of 
Cortes's soldiers were drowned here on the "sad night." 

The suburb of Guadalupe is remarkable for its cathe- 
dral and chapel. It is reached by horse-cars from the 
Plaza mayor in about thirty minutes. The cathedral is a 
massive brick edifice, with four towers around a central 
dome. The interior is noted for the solid silver railing, 
about three feet high, which leads from the choir to the 
high altar and extends around the edge of the latter. The 
famous picture of the Virgin hangs in the high altar. The 
choir is adorned with artistic wooden carvings, and there 
is a large organ on each side of it. There are a great many 
ex-votos hung on the wall of the cathedral near the main 
entrance. They are principally cheap oil-paintings and 
wax-work. 

The sanctuary of Guadalupe is, perhaps, the most cele- 
brated in the Republic, and the story of how it was built 
and named after Nuestra Seiiora de Guadalupe is interest- 
ing. The tradition is as follows : An Indian called Juan 
Diego worked in the vicinity of Guadalupe. On one occa- 
sion, while crossing the hill of Tepeyacac that rises behind 
the town, he saw a rainbow, in the middle of which was a 
beautiful woman encompassed by a white cloud. Upon 
approaching the figure, the Indian was told that she was 
the mother of God. The Virgin said that she desired a 



THE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 193 

temple to be built in that place, and that she would render 
aid and protection to all believers who would call upon her 
when in trouble. She further commanded him to report 
to the Bishop of Mexico what had taken place. The Indian 
did as he was directed, but Zumarraga, who was then bishop, 
discredited his statement. The Virgin appeared to the In- 
dian several times afterward, and on one occasion ordered 
him to pick flowers from the barren mountain and take 
them to the bishop. Accordingly, he gathered beautiful 
flowers where none had previously grown, and carried them 
in his tilma or cloak to the episcopal palace. After telling 
his story, the Indian dropped the flowers on the floor, when 
suddenly the bishop fell on his knees at the sight of the 
image of the Blessed Virgin, that appeared to be painted 
on the cloak of Juan Diego. 

A long poem has been written on this miraculous ap- 
pearance of the Virgin, and it is sold in book-form at the 
door of the cathedral. Eibbons of various colors, giving 
the size of the head of Our Lady of Guadalupe, are also 
offered for sale. A high mass is celebrated on the 12th 
day of every month, and on the 12th of December a great 
religious festival takes place, which is attended by persons 
from all parts of the Eepublic. It is the anniversary of 
the day upon which the Virgin first appeared to Juan 
Diego. Among the illustrious dead buried in this cathe- 
dral are the Viceroy Bucareli and Colonel Obregon. The 
original flag that was carried by Hidalgo in 1810 is de- 
posited here. 

The chapel of Guadalupe is situated on a hill directly 
behind the cathedral. A good view of the valley of Mex- 
ico may be obtained from the fayade of the former. 

The famous Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed at 
this place on the 2d of February, 1848. 

The battle-fields of Chapultepec, Molino del Rey, and 
Cheruhusco^ lie a few miles south of the capital. A hand- 



194 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

some stone monument has been erected, by Generals Diaz 
and Gonzalez, near the castle of Chapultepec, to the mem- 
ory of the heroes of the war of 1847. 

The tourist will have some difficulty in finding his way 
about the streets of the City of Mexico, as each block has a 
different name. Some streets have the same appellation 
for two or three squares, with a number added to each one 
— e. g., la, 2da, and 8ra de San Francisco. 

The principal business thoroughfare is the Calle de Pla- 
ter os, which leads from the Plaza mayor toward the Ala- 
meda. 

The finest shops in Mexico are on this street ; English 
and French are spoken in some of them. Several new 
buildings are being erected, and others improved, in this 
part of the city. 

A walk through the colonnades known as the Portal 
Mercaderes will be found interesting. The military band 
plays in the adjoining zocalo four evenings in the week. 

Strangers will be pleased with the variety of Mexican 
costumes seen in the public squares. The black-cloth suits 
ornamented with silver buttons, and broad-brimmed felt 
hats with silver bands, are the most picturesque of all. 

A great deal of pulque is consumed in the national cap- 
ital, and the traveler will meet many intoxicated persons 
on the street. It is said that there are two thousand shops, 
or pulquerias, in the city, at which thirty thousand gallons 
ol pulque are consumed daily. 

If the tourist has but a single day to spend in the cap- 
ital, he should visit the Cathedral, Palace, Museum, Acad- 
emy of San Carlos, Church of Santo Domingo, Paseo de 
la Reforma, Chapultepec, and go to the opera in the 
evening. 

There is some kind of opera, either French, Spanish, 
or Italian, nearly all the year round. 




'fe. 



196 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

EXCURSIONS AEOUND THE CAPITAL. 

"We would advise the tourist to leave his trunk at some 
hotel in the City of Mexico, and make short trips in all 
directions. 

The best excursions are as follows : 

1. From Mexico to Celaya via, Mexican Central Eailroad, and return via 

Maravatio and Toluca. This route is described in Sections IV and V. 

2. To the Pyramids of San Juan Teotihuacan. Distance, 25 miles. 

Take the morning train to the station of the same name 
on the Mexican Eailway, and walk or drive to the pyramids, 
about two miles distant. The larger one is dedicated to the 
Sun, and the other is called the pyramid of the Moon. An 
extensive view may be had from the summit of the former. 
The valley of Mexico is clearly seen, and in the distant 
south the Nevado de Toluca is visible. (See chapter on 
ruins for a complete description of the teocallis.) There 
are no hotel accommodations at San Juan TeoWiuacan. 
A bad fondita may be found in the town, but the traveler is 
recommended to carry jDrovisions with him from the capi- 
tal, and return by the afternoon train. 

8. From Mexico to Pachuca. Distance, 57 miles. 

PacTiuca contains some of the oldest mines in the Ee- 
public. Many of them were worked long before the Span- 
ish Conquest. The town lies in the State of Hidalgo, and . 
is reached by rail from the City of Mexico to Irolo, and 
thence by tramway. (Hotel, San Carlos.) There is a gov- 
ernmental school of practical mining here. The popula- 
tion of Pacliuca is about 13,000, of which 5,000 are miners, 
and the altitude, as measured by Humboldt, is 8,150 feet. 
A great many Cornishmen are employed here, although this 
mining district is one out of a very few in which European 
or American miners have been introduced. PacTiuca con- 
tains about one hundred and fifty mines, and Real del 



THE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 19Y 

Monte has seventy-five of them. The ore is composed 
mainly of blackish silver sulphides. Several English com- 
panies have established themselves in Pacliuca, and an 
American company has recently been organized to work 
the tailings of some of the older mines. It is highly prob- 
able that improved mining machinery will soon be used in 
this district. Compressed cakes of English coal are im- 
ported at the rate of 832 a ton ! It is said that a valuable 
deposit of coal has lately been discovered in the vicinity. 
Excursions may easily be made from Pacliuca to the ad- 
joining mining town of Real del Monte (elevation, 9,057 
feet), and to the town and cascade of Regla, and also to 
the village of El Chico. 

4. From Mexico to Cjernavaca. Distance, 47 miles by diligence. Fare, 
$4.50. Time, nino and a half hours. Stage-coaches run three times 
a week. 

Leaving Mexico, the road leads over a causeway, bor- 
dered with a row of poplars on either side, to the suburb 
of Tlalpam, about seven miles distant. A horse-car track 
runs parallel with the road. Thence the route turns to the 
southeast, and lies over a sandy region as far as the end of 
the valley of Mexico. 

The lofty mountain of Ajusco is seen on the west, and 
the Lake of XocMmilco on the east. The diligence now 
begins to ascend the pass leading through the ridge which 
forms the southern boundary of the plateau of Anahuac. 
The roadway is smooth, and kept in good order as far as 
the. summit, and the grade is moderate. As the stage-coach 
climbs the winding pass, the tourist soon obtains a beauti- 
ful view of the valley of Mexico, whose surface is dotted 
with various extinct volcanoes, and the several lakes that 
have already been mentioned. Picturesque villages are 
scattered over the oval-shaped plain. 

Proceeding farther, the traveler enters a region cov- 




I'llMillill 



^.gf .^^-tfgs-— ja==^ 



' »\\ > .',. ('X>'^^^-' 



THE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 199 

ered with thick grass, interspersed with pines and spruces, 
reminding him of a northern flora. Many pack-trains of 
burros, or donkeys, are seen on the road. They carry, prin- 
cipally, fruit and vegetables to the capital. The diligence 
stops for lunch at a hamlet on the ridge-line, where the road 
is level for about two miles. Soon the summit of the pass 
is reached, the spot being marked by a stone cross, which 
is said to have been erected by Cortes. This cross marks 
the northern boundary-line of the grant of Montezuma to 
the Conqueror. According to the measurement of an ane- 
roid barometer, the elevation of this point is 9,540 feet. 

The road now descends gradually. It is stony, and 
much rougher than the northern portion of the route. 
Fortunately for tourists, however, this highway is undergo- 
ing repairs, and is already the best and, perhajos, the oldest 
line of travel for diligences in the Eepublic. As the ob- 
server continues on his journey down-hill, he will see the 
distant city of Cuernavaca on the south. The city lies on 
a mesa, or natural terrace, beyond which is a broad valley 
running east and west. 

The coach soon reaches another hamlet, and the animals 
are changed for the last time. Five mules, instead of eight, 
are sufficient to draw the vehicle over the rapidly descend- 
ing grade, and in about an hour the tourist arrives at his 
destination. 

CUEENAVACA. 

Population, 16,320. Elevation, 5,380 feet, according to Humboldt. 

Hotels. — San Pelro and Del Fenix, both on the plaza. 

Baths, one block north of the San Pedro. 

Places of Interest. — 1. Cortes's Palace. 2. The Parochial Church. 
3. The Church of Guadalxpe. 4. The Borda Gardens. 5. Maximilian's 
villa at Acapancingo. 

Cuernavaca, the capital of the State of Morclos, was 

originally called Quaiilinaliuac {i. e., near the beautiful 

hills), a term given to it by the TIaJmicos, who were the 
10 



200 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

founders of the city. It was conquered by the Spaniards 
in April, 1521. Both of the foreign usurpers, Cortes and 
Maximilian, made this place their fayorite winter resort. 

Cortes's Palace is now used as a court-house, and has 
been rebuilt since the Independence of Mexico. The Bor- 
da Gardens, once very beautiful, are in ruins. They are 
on the western edge of the town, and are worthy of a visit. 
Maximilian's villa is now used as a school-house. It is 
called El Colegio de Ninas. A handsome garden adjoins 
the villa, but it is not in good condition. Cotton, coffee, 
bananas, and palms, besides flowers, grow here. The unfor- 
tunate emperor occupied this place from January to Octo- 
ber, in 1866. He is said to have built the charming villa 
at his own expense. The snow-clad mountains of Popo- 
catepetl and Iztaccihuatl are in full view, and lie about 
twenty-five miles to the eastward. 

The village of Acajpancingo is situated about one mile 
and a half southeast of Cuernavaca. There was once a 
good wagon-road thither, but now it is practicable only for 
horsemen and pedestrians. 

Much sugar-cane is grown in the neighborhood, and a 
crop may be reaped within twelve months after planting 
the cuttings. 

The tourist should visit the temple or fortress of XocJii- 
calco, which is one of the most remarkable remains on 
Mexican soil. It lies eighteen miles from Cuernavaca, on 
a rocky eminence, almost a league in circumference, which 
is cut into terraces faced with stone. The building on the 
summit is seventy-five by sixty-six feet in area. It is of 
hewn granite, and was constructed in the usual pyramidal- 
terraced form. A few years ago this temple was used as a 
sugar-refinery. 

An excursion may be taken from Cuernavaca to the 
famous cave of Cacahuamilpa, which lies in a limestone re- 
gion, about forty miles south of the city. It can be reached 



TEE CITY OF MEXICO AND ENVIRONS. 201 

by wagon or horseback. As no hotel accommodations are 
to be had, the tourist is advised to carry blankets and pro- 
visions for three days. The cave has not yet been fully ex- 
plored. 

A trip to Tasco (fifty-four miles distant) may also be 
made from Cuernavaca. The town contains silver-mines 
that were worked before the Conquest. It has also a beau- 
tiful parish church. The altitude of Tasco is 5,852 feet, 
according to Humboldt. 

5. From Mexico to Cuautla. 

This excursion may include the great volcano of Popo- 
catepetl. (The entire route is described in Section VIII.) 




Indian Hut in the Tierra Caliente. 



SEOTIOK IV. 

The Mexican National Railway (Compania Constructora 
Nacional Mexicana). 

(For description of this railway, see Part First.) 
"We will first sketch the western branch of this railway, 
from Mexico to Manzanillo, on the Pacific coast, and then 
give an account of the northern route, from Acambaro 
Junction to Laredo and Corpus ChrisH. The region adja- 
cent to the railroad, and connections by stage and horseback 
with stations along the line, will be described in detail. 

Route I. 

FEOM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO MANZAISTILLO. 

1. Mexico to Toluca. 

2. Toluca to Maravatio. 

3. Maravatio to Morelia. 

4. Morelia to Pdtzcuaro and thence to Manzanillo. 

5. Pdtzcuaro via Ario to Jorullo. 

1. From Mexico to Toluca, 73 kilometres, or 45 J miles. Time, 3^ hours. 
Two passenger-trains daily. Take left-hand side of the train for view. 

Leaving the station of Colonia, the line passes over the 
fertile plain of Mexico. The castle of Chapultepec is seen 
on the left. The first station is Union de Taenia (4 "59 
kilometres) ; the next station is Union de JSfaucalpan (8 "62 
kilometres). Now the land begins to rise, and the grade 
soon becomes very heavy. Passing the hamlet of San Bar- 
tolo (9 '18 kilometres), we reach Rio Hondo (14'28 kilome- 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 203 

tres), where the elevation is 7,550 feet, or 203 feet above the 
capital. The track soon enters the foot-liills of the ridge 
forming the western boundary of the valley of Mexico. 

There are many cuts through the alluvial drift and 
clay. Nopales, or cactus-trees, are very common in the 
vicinity of the line of the railroad. 

After passing Rio Hondo a heavy grade begins. The 
train crosses gulches, with roaring brooks at the bottom. 
On the northern side of the track, and near the station of 
San Bartolito (22*09 kilometres), traces of an ancient aque- 
duct are seen. We soon pass through a cut in granite rock, 
and then stop at the station of Dos Rios (27*15 kilometres). 

The road now enters a picturesque valley half a mile in 
breadth, where some maize is grown. The farms are di- 
vided by long hedges of the maguey, which appear to take 
the place of fences. The natives cover the roofs of their 
huts with heavy stones, to prevent the wind from blowing 
them away. The traveler will observe towers about ten 
feet high adjoining the houses. They are cribs for storing 
corn, and are called cincolotes. 

This region has a sparse i^opulation ; only a few huts of 
stone and straw are to be seen. The track skirts the sides 
of enormous ravines or barrancas. The next station is Via 
de Escape Tunnel (30*46 kilometres). We can now look 
across the valley, where the track is much higher than our 
i:)lace of observation. After passing through the tunnel and 
winding round long curves, having in places a compen- 
sated grade of about four per cent, the tourist, on glancing 
back, will have a fine view of the distant valley of Mexico, 
with the stately capital and picturesque sierras beyond. 
The famous home of the Aztecs appears to be surrounded 
by lakes. The valley below the line of the railroad bears 
the name of San Lazar, and the hamlet on the hill bound- 
ing the south side of the cafion is called San Franciscito. 
We next reach the station of Escape de San 3Iartin (35*30 



204 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TBAYEL. 

kilometres). The pines, spruces, and other trees of a 
stunted character, remind the traveler that he has ascend- 
ed to a great elevation. Leaving the valley and going 
through several cuts in the solid rock, the train arrives 
at Cima, or Summit (39 -12 kilometres). This is the 
highest point of the railroad, and would be called the 
*' divide" by Americans. Its elevation is 9,974 feet above 
tide- water. It is the highest railway-station in Mexico. 
The brook on the south side of the track, which the tourist 
has just passed, is the Rio Hondo. It flows into the valley 
of Mexico ; while the little stream on the north side of the 
railroad is the south fork of the Rio Lerma (one of the 
largest rivers of the Eepublic), which, after traversing the 
States of Mexico, Miclioacan, and Guanajuato, empties into 
the Lake of Cliapala. 

The rock at Cima is a reddish trachyte, and is used to 
ballast the track. The road now crosses a flat, grassy 
plateau. The next station is Salazar (41 "29 kilometres). 
There is a bar as well as a lunch-room in the station. The 
scenery in the vicinity closely resembles that of the Kocky 
Mountains. The pines and spruces attain a considerable, 
height. The grade soon begins to descend, and the view 
henceforth is better on the right-hand side of the car. The 
train follows the course of -the Rio Lerma, crosses the old 
stage-road, and arrives at the station Camino de Toluca 
(44 '51 kilometres). The tourist may now see the majestic 
snow-clad mountain, the Nevado de Toluca, an extinct 
volcano, 15,156 feet high, and about twenty miles distant. 
The track crosses a bridge built over a ravine. An aque- 
duct is being constructed at the bottom, to carry the water 
of the Rio Lerma to the flour-mill at Jajalpa. Soon the 
station of Jajalpa (51 "24 kilometres) is reached. Here the 
elevation is 8,872 feet. It is worthy of remark that one of 
the few steam flour-mills in the country is found at this 
town. Wood is brought from the neighboring hills for 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 205 

fuel. Fine wheat grows here, and the maguey is also cul- 
tivated. The track now winds round many long curves, 
and presently a grand view of the broad valley of Toluca is 
obtained. Looking out of the car-window, the observer 
may see the line of the road far below him. 

The next station is Camino de Ocoyoacac (55 '40 kilo- 
metres). The train runs along the side of the mountains, 
and soon the town of Ocoyoacac is seen in the plain below. 
The streets are well laid out, and there is considerable stir 
on the plaza, but the church is by far the most conspicu- 
ous object, as it is in other Mexican and Spanish towns. 
We now arrive at the station of Lerma (59*55 kilometres). 
The elevation of this place is 8,456 feet. The houses of 
Lerma are built of adobe, with tile roofs. Much maguey is 
grown in the vicinity. The pulque from the valley of To- 
luca is famous. The road runs over the plain for about 
eight miles, and the next station is Toluca, 73 kilometres 
from the capital. This place, with perhaps the exception 
of Ameca-meca, in the State of Mexico, is the city of the 
highest altitude in the Eepublic, being 8,653 feet above 
the sea-level. The Nevado de Toluca, an extinct volcano 
several miles to the south, is the most prominent feature 
in the landscape for many miles. This mountain is often 
cloud-capped. 

TOLUCA. 

Population, 11,500. 

Hotels. — Gran Socicdad, EspaffHol, Hidalgo, and Bella Union. There 
are also several restaurants and cafes. 

Baths, in the Calle de Victoria. 

Teatro principal, behind the Hotel Gran Sociedad. 

Places of Interest. — 1. Carmeii church and monastery. 2. Church of 
Vera Cruz. 3. Plaza de los 3fartiros, where a monument in white marble, 
about twelve feet high, has been erected to the great patriot Miguel Hidalgo 
y Costilla. 4. Palacio Municipal. 5. The Paseo. 

Toluca is a well-built and thriving town. The streets 
are clean and well drained. The tourist may obtain a 



206 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

correct idea of the topography of Toluca and environs by 
walking up the hill on the southwestern side of the city. 
It is not more than fifteen minutes' walk from the |)rincipal 
hotels. 

A pleasant excursion may be made to the Nevada de 
Toluca (15,156 feet high). This mountain is always snow- 
clad, but in winter it is covered with snow for about one 
third of the way down from the summit. There is a ranch 
on the ridge. Just below the timber-line, where the traveler 
can pass the night. A very extensive view may be obtained 
from the top of the volcano. On a clear day the Pacific 
Ocean, one hundred and sixty miles distant, is visible ; and 
it is said that the GuK of Mexico can even be seen with a 
powerful field-glass. Baron von Humboldt ascended the 
peak of Toluca on the 29th of September, 1803, and 
measured the height of the mountain by the barometer. 
He states that the highest jooint, the Pico del Fraile, is 
difficult of ascent, and the very top is scarcely ten feet 
wide.* Humboldt found the rock to be a combination of 
oligoclase and hornblende (diorite). Two entire days will 
be required to climb the Nevado de Toluca — i. e., from the 
city of Toluca and hach. The traveler should take provis- 
ions, blankets, guides, and horses sufficient for the journey. 

2. From Toluca to Maravatio, 150 kilometres, or 93 miles. Time, 7 hours. 

Leaving Toluca, the road continues due west along the 
broad valley. Much wheat is grown in the vicinity. One 
farmer sold seventy-seven thousand dollars' worth last year 
(1882). The next station is Del Rio (97 kilometres). The 
railway-station is in a freight-car on a siding. 

The line soon winds along the bank of the Rio Lerma, 
with bluffs of a clayey limestone on one side. We pass 
through the tunnel of Ixtlaliuaca, and reach the station of 

* See Cosmos, vol. v, p. 3*76. 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 207 

the same name (111' 50 kilometres). Here the elevation is 
8,423 feet. The town lies about a mile north of the track. 
The traveler may see the bonndary-line of the States of 
Mexico and Miclioacan near by. Stone monuments about 
three feet high are placed in the ground every thousand 
yards. One of them is very close to the railroad. Pres- 
ently the line crosses the Rio Lerma and continues through 
a fertile country. Good pastures for cattle abound here, 
and the tourist can see many fine haciendas from the car- 
window. The track has usually been laid some distance 
from the hamlets and villages. Hogs are raised in con- 
siderable numbers on the estates along the line of the To- 
luca and Maravatio division of the National Railway, and 
yet no one has had the enterprise to put up hams for do- 
mestic use. The natives seem to prefer to import Ameri- 
can hams at 50 cents and those of Westphalia at 62| cents 
a pound. It is believed that hams could be sent from 
Toluca to the capital and sold at a handsome profit for 
20 cents a pound. This is only one out of many business 
chances that await the American or European settler in 
Mexico. 

Flor de Maria (133 '90 kilometres) is the next station. 
Here the condiictor calls out in English, " Half an hour 
for dinner." The dining-room consists of a freight-car, 
and the kitchen is in an adjoining car on a siding. The 
tourist is agreeably surprised at finding an excellent dinner 
served in such a primitive eating-house. Six reales is the 
price charged. We soon come to the station of La Jor- 
dana (149*90 kilometres). The next station is Ul Oro 
(164 kilometers), where the elevation is 8,344 feet. There 
are mines containing gold and silver on the hill-side 
about four miles southwest of this place. A New York 
company owns them. A forty-stamp mill has been erected 
at great cost, owing to the machinery having been trans- 
ported, first over the Mexican Railway with its enormous 



208 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

rates, and then by wagon-road to El Oro. The ore is 
worked in the same manner as in California. The country 
rock is slate. The main shaft of the loines at El Oro is 
now full of water, and steam-pumps are about to be used 
to raise it. 

Grold-mines are found also at Tlalpujalma, nine miles 
from El Oro station. A stage-coach runs to them. These 
mines are among the oldest in Mexico, and were worked 
before the Conquest. It may be remarked that there is a 
great deal of undeveloped mineral wealth in the State of 
Michoacan. The well-known mining districts of Trojes, 
Chapatuato, Ozumatlan, and Sinda, can be reached in two 
days on horseback. The ores of gold and silyer with a 
quartz gangue occur here. But, as the tourist will have 
difficulty in procuring horses and provisions at El Oro, the 
Journey to these mining districts can be made more easily 
from Morelia, the capital of the State. 

Eeturning to the railroad, take the left-hand side of the 
train for the view after leaving El Oro. We now cross the 
State line again, as the track is built partly in the State of 
Mexico and partly in Michoacan. The next station is Canon 
(167*70 kilometres). Near by the tourist may see the ruins 
of a stone dam, where a supply of water was formerly 
stored for the benefit of cattle and sheep grazing in the 
vicinity. Soon the road-bed begins to descend rapidly and 
enters the Canon de los Zopilotes, or Turkey-Buzzard Canon. 
The creek of El Salto runs through the canon and forms a 
cascade, which is a grand sight in the rainy season. The 
track has been blasted out of the solid basalt rock, and is a 
skillful piece of engineering. The canon is about a mile 
long, and the observer on looking down may see a trail at 
the bottom running along the course of the roaring tor- 
rent. Trails are very common all over Mexico, as horse- 
back-riding has been the principal means of communica- 
tion up to the present day. Nearly every canon, valley, 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 209 

and plain can be traversed by a bridle-path. The railroad 
soon makes a sharp turn, and leaves the Canon de los Zopi- 
lotes. The grade is still very heavy. A fine view of the 
broad and fertile valley below presents itself to the eye, and 
the observer will soon notice a clifE about two hundred feet 
high, on the right-hand side of the track, called the Salto 
de Medina. The clifE was so named after Medina, the 
chief of a noted band of brigands. He had been pursued 
to the edge of the precipice, and, finding escape impossible, 
blinded his mule with a zarape, and, spurring his animal, 
jumped off the cliff to prevent the officers of the law from 
capturing him. The line now runs along the side of the 
broad valley, making several long curves, and reaches the 
station of Soils, (176-50 kilometres). The country is cov- 
ered with basaltic rock, and tanks for watering live-stock 
are seen in places. Tepetongo is the next station (185 "70 
kilometres), and has an elevation of 7,652 feet. The region 
is overgrown with nopal-trees and the bush known as hui- 
sachi, resembling the mesquite. After passing the station 
of Pomoca (205*50 kilometres), we reach Maravatio (233 "20 
kilometres). The elevation of this town is 6,612 feet, and 
the population is about 10,000. (Hotel, Diligencias.) The 
town lies in a broad, grassy plain, surrounded by ridges of 
mountains. There is nothing of special interest to the 
traveler here. Maravatio is eleven hours' Journey from 
the City of Mexico. Another and shorter route from the 
capital to this town has been surveyed — i. e., the continu- 
ation of the division of Ul Salto, the line running north- 
ward from the capital, via Tlalnepantla, Cuautitlan, and 
Huehuetoca, to the station of El Salto, 67*29 kilometres 
from the capital. On November 1, 1883, only four kilo- 
metres of this line were constructed beyond El Salto. The 
Mexican Central Railway also runs to El Salto, and the 
country adjoining the latter road will be described in Sec- 
tion V. 



210 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

S. From Maeavatio to Moeelia, 155 kilometres, or 96 miles. 

The track from Maravatio to Acambaro was finished in 
February, 1883. The distance is 63 kilometres. The line 
of the railway is several miles to the eastward of the old 
diligence-road. The stations are, Zirizicuaro (22 '34 kilo- 
metres), Taranddcuao (31*34 kilometres), /Scm /ose (41*34 
kilometres), and Acambaro (63 kilometres). The region 
traversed by the route is not much cultivated, and there 
are only three hamlets along the line. Basaltic rock cov- 
ers the country, and there is but little vegetation besides 
the nopal, liuisacM, mesquite, and piru trees. Much wheat 
and Indian corn could be produced here, but at present 
very little is grown. The train reaches Acambaro in about 
three hours. 

ACAMBARO. 

Elevation, 6,084 feet at the railroad-junction ; population, about 8,000. 
Hotel. — Nacional, one block from the plaza. 

The town lies in a broad valley, and is destined to 
increase in population as soon as the two branches of the 
Mexican National Eailway are finished. One branch ex- 
tends northward to Celaya, via Salvatierra, a distance of 
42|- miles, and thence via San Luis Potosi and Monterey 
to the frontier ; the other runs to Morelia, 57 miles dis- 
tant, and thence to Pdtzcuaro and Manzanillo on the Pa- 
cific. The branch to Oelaya was completed in July, 1883. 
If the tourist does not wish to travel farther westward, he 
can take the train to Celaya, which is on the line of the 
Mexican Central Eailway, and return to the capital by 
the latter road, thus making a round trip from Mexico 
that will give him an excellent idea of the agricultural 
and mineral resources of the region traversed by the two 
principal American trunk lines. The division of the 
National Eailway to Morelia was opened on September 12, 
1883. 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 211 

Leaving Acamharo, the road trends over the plain to 
the south, and then goes southwest ward for several miles, 
when the picturesque Lake of Cuitzeo is seen. The level 
of this lake is 6,021 feet, or 63 feet lower than Acamharo. 
Lake Cuitzeo is about 18 miles long, and affords good fishing. 
There are several islets in the lake, and it is surrounded by- 
low hills. The stations are Summit Siding (14 kilometres), 
Andocutin (31 "50 kilometres), Huingo (38*50 kilometres), 
Querendaro (49 kilometres), Quirio (63 kilometres), Gharo 
(74 kilometres). La Goleta (76 kilometres), Atapaneo (80 
kilometres), and Morelia (92 kilometres). 

MOEELIA. 

Population, about 20,400. Elevation, 6,202 feet. 

Hotels. — Soledad and Diligencias. 

Baths. — Del Eecreo, and in the Hotel Soledad. 

The city lies in a basin. It is the capital of the State 
of MicJioacan, is well built, and has clean streets. There 
is not much wealth in Morelia, but a large number of the 
inhabitants are well-to-do. At the present time a few build- 
ings are in course of erection, especially the College of San 
Jose, with an ornamental fa9ade. Many of the houses are 
built of a pinkish trachyte, which is brought from a quarry 
about a mile from the city. This stone, however, does not 
weather well, and, after exposure to the atmosphere for a 
few years, the buildings made of it appear to be quite old. 
Most of the dwelling-houses are of one story, while, on the 
main street and near the plaza, many of the shops are in 
buildings having two and sometimes three stories. 

Places of Interest. — 1. The Cathedral (well worth seeing). 2. The 
Palace. 3. The Paseo. 4. Several of the churches may be visited to ad- 
vantage, if the tourist is not pressed for time. 

The Cathedral occnpies an entire block, and is built in 
the Spanish renaissance style. The wood-work of the choir 



212 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

(coro) is finely carved. Formerly the passage-way from the 
choir to the high altar was inclosed with a silver railing, 
but during the revolution the Liberals entered the edifice 
and confiscated the precious metal. The silver doors on the 
tabernacles of the side chapels still remain. The fonts are of 
-Mesican onyx, brought from Puella, three hundred miles 
distant. It is said that the Cathedral received upward of 
14,000,000 from the owners of mines in the neighborhood 
(at Ozumatlan), between the years 1758 and 1858. The 
inhabitants of Morelia worship the outside as well as the 
inside of the Cathedral, and it is customary for men to re- 
move their hats while passing it. The stranger renders 
himself liable to insult if he fails to observe this usage. A 
Mexican peasant will often kneel in passing this holy of 
holies. In Morelia, as in some other cities, the people gen- 
erally bow to the priest, or padre, whether they know him 
or not. When the priest wishes to administer the last rites 
of the Church to a person in articulo mortis, he repairs to 
the house in a close carriage, drawn by two white mules. It 
is usual to kneel in the streets while this carriage is passing, 
and the tourist will give great offense to the by-standers if 
he does not conform to this practice. Before the overthrow 
of the clerical party, the host was borne through the streets 
by a sort of procession, arranged as follows : First, a man 
with a bell ; then the coach containing the sacrament, or es- 
tufa ; then six attendants on each side of it, carrying large 
lanterns or torches ; and three soldiers in the rear. 

Protestants have often been mobbed or arrested, and in a 
few cases killed, for refusing to kneel on the approach of the 
host. The late Bishop Haven relates that, in the year 1824, 
in the City of Mexico, an American shoemaker was at work 
on his bench, near the doorway, on the first floor of a house. 
Presently the bell announced the coming of the priest bear- 
ing the host. A Mexican stepped into this doorway, and, 
kneeling on the floor, turned to see if the shoemaker was 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 213 

following liis example. The cobbler had dropped his tools, 
and was kneeling on the top of his bench, when the zealous 
Catholic requested that he should get down and kneel on 
the floor. The American refused to do so, whereupon the 
Mexican drew his knife and inflicted a mortal wound on 
him. The news spread rapidly through the city, and it 
was only at the risk of the life of an American clergyman 
living in the capital that the murdered man received a 
Christian burial. Travelers should remember that Morelia 
has always been a stronghold of the priesthood, and that, 
although the power of the Church is gone in most of the 
States, it still holds its own in Miclioacan. 

The Palace next demands our attention. It is a well- 
built and commodious edifice of two stories, and contains 
the offices of the State Government and the custom-house. 
The governmental printing-office is also in the Palace. A 
large room on the second story contains the State Library, 
which is composed of many rare and old volumes, taken 
from the convents and monasteries during revolutions. 
Some of the books are written on the canon law in Latin, 
and bound in the most costly style. The front part of 
the second story of this building consists of the Gov- 
ernor's office, and the reception-room, or Sala de Reunion. 
The latter apartment is furnished with ornamental black- 
walnut sofas and chairs, covered with silk, and which were 
made in Morelia. 

In the Hall of Congress, or Sola del Congreso, on the 
first floor of the Palace, there is a statue of Hidalgo, the 
Mexican Washington, and a portrait of the liberator, 
Ocanipo, sj^eaking in the national palace at the capital. 
Ocamjjo was one of the leaders of the anti-clerical party, 
and rendered such gallant service to the State of Miclioacan 
during the revolution that the inhabitants named the State 
after him, so that its full name is Miclioacan de Ocampo. 

After the tourist has visited the principal buildings, a 



214: CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

walk to the Paseo will be found interesting. Large ash- 
trees (fresnos) grow here, and the gardens are well laid out 
and planted with flowers. We may add that there are fine 
cedars and cyjoress- trees in the yard of the Carmen Church, 
on the north side of the city. 

The traveler may rest a few days in Morelia to advan- 
tage. The time may be passed in visiting the other build- 
ings not already mentioned — such as the municipal palace ; 
the cemetery, or campo santo, inclosed with high adohe 
walls ; the smaller churches and vacant convents ; the cot- 
ton-factory ; or some of the colleges and schools. 

The climate of Morelia is salubrious. The water is, 
however, muddy, and must be passed through large stone 
filters before it can be used. 

Morelia was founded on the 23d of April, 1541, by 
provision of the viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza. During 
the Spanish domination it received the name of Vallado- 
lid, in honor of the Viceroy Mendoza, whose birthplace in 
Spain bore that name. In 1828 the Legislature of Micho- 
acan enacted that the city should be called Morelia, in 
memory of Jose Maria Morelos, a hero of the War of Inde- 
pendence, who was born in' this place. 

Many excursions can be made from Morelia, especially 
to the mining districts lying to the east and southeast. 
Chapatuato is sixty miles by trail. Gold is found in a fis- 
sure-vein, associated with galena, pyrites, and antimonial 
ores. The country rock is slate. Ozumatlan is thirty 
miles distant. Here gold occurs in trachyte. Sinda lies 
at about the same distance from Morelia, and its miner- 
als are similar to those just mentioned. In the autumn 
of 1880 a company was formed in New York to develop 
these mining regions. It was known as the Michoacan 
Syndicate. Mining engineers were sent to Mexico from 
New York, and a favorable report was published, from 
which the above particulars are taken. Labor is abundant 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 215 

here, at prices ranging from three to four reales a day. It 
is believed that the completion of the railroad to Morelia 
will be of great benefit to these mines, which are now 
owned largely by residents of this city, who have not 
sufficient capital to work them, and are willing to sell 
at a fair valuation. It may be remarked that Miclioacan 
still contains an immense amount of undeveloped mineral 
wealth. Besides gold and silver, copper and iron are abun- 
dant. 

An excursion may also be taken to Zintzuntzan, about 
twenty miles distant. This town was the seat of the court 
of the ancient kings of Miclioacan ; it had a population of 
40,000. To-day its edifices are destroyed, its streets de- 
serted, and its few inhabitants are extremely ignorant. In 
the environs many mounds exist that are said to conceal 
the ancient palaces of the kings of Miclioacan. There are 
also many buildings in which precious antiquities would be 
found if these hills should be excavated and examined. A 
great deal of pottery is now made here. 

The cities of Zamora, La Barca, and La Piedad, and 
the brown-coal deposits of Xiquilpan, may be reached from 
Morelia by horse-roads. In closing the chapter on Morelia, 
it may be said that, at present, but two foreign corporations 
are carrying on mining and smelting operations in the 
vicinity — one English and one American. The State Gov- 
ernment is trying to increase the cultivation of the silk- 
worm and of cotton, and it is hardly necessary to add that 
Miclioacan affords excellent opportunities for investment 
to foreigners having some capital. 

4. From Morelia to Patzcuaro, and thence to Manzanillo. 

There are two lines of diligences from Morelia to Pdtz- 
cuaro, running three times a week. The fare is 12 for each 
passenger. The distance is forty miles, and the trip re- 
quires eight hours. The scenery along the route is pictur- 



216 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

esque ; but, unfortunately, the road is one of the very 
roughest in Mexico. A part of it is paved with basaltic 
bowlders, on account of the frequent rains in the neighbor- 
hood. Leaving Morelia, the diligence travels up-hill for 
about ten miles, until the summit of a low divide is reached. 
Then the road descends to a small village, where the mules 
are changed. Proceeding farther, the tourist enters a val- 
ley, with lofty and densely timbered ridges, or sierras, on 
either side. A few extinct volcanoes are seen, and the pre- 
vailing rock is blue amygdaloidal basalt. The worst part 
of the road has now been passed, and soon the stage-coach 
stops, to change animals for the last time. There is very 
little vegetation along this route. Traveling over an as- 
ceiiding grade for several miles, the observer obtains a view 
of the eastern end of the beautiful Lake of Pdtzcuaro. In 
half an hour the driver halts in front of the Hotel Dili- 
gencias. 

PATZCUAEO. 

Population, about 8,000. 

Elevation, 6,717 feet, according to the surveys of the 
Mexican National Eailway engineers. We may state that 
the line of this railroad has been graded to within a few 
rods of the town ; but the officers of the company have as 
yet made no announcement of the time when this branch 
of the road will be completed. Alexander von Humboldt 
visited this region in 1803, and computed the elevation of 
this town to be about 500 feet higher than that above given, 
according to barometric measurement. The word " Patz- 
cuaro " means a j)lcice of. 2Jleas2ire in the Indian language. 
The houses are mostly of one story. The streets are nar- 
row and winding, but the plazas are ample, and often filled 
with fruit-venders. This city was formerly a resort of the 
ancient kings of Michoacan, and after the Conquest it be- 
came the capital of the province. 

There is a large Indian population here, who speak the 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 217 

Tarasc dialect, especially on the lake, which is two and a 
half miles from the town. 

The picturesque Lake of Pdtzcuaro is about thirty miles 
in circumference. Its shape is irregular, the greatest length 
being about thirteen miles from northeast to southwest. 
There are five small islands in the lake, bearing the names of 
Xaniclio, Pacanda, Xaracuaro, Yuguan, and Tecuen. The 
first one is inhabited. The view from the hills near the 
town, of the lake surrounded by densely timbered mount- 
ains, and with the surface dotted by islets, and the white 
houses on the side of Xaniclio, is beautiful beyond descrip- 
tion. It reminds the traveler of the famous Lago Mag- 
giore. Among other writers who have remarked upon the 
beauty of the landscape are Madame Calderon de la Barca 
and Baron von Humboldt. A recent English author of a 
book on Mexico states, that the former has published to the 
world the most entertaining work ever written on the land 
of the Aztecs. 

The Indians living on the Lake of Pdtzcuaro very closely 
resemble the Pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona. The 
tourist can visit the islands in one of their " dug-out " pine 
canoes {canoas). Paddles with circular blades are used in 
the canoes by both women and men. 

Perhaps no spot in the country deserves the name of 
''primitive Mexico" better than Lake Pdtzcuaro. 

Several excursions may be made from Pdtzcuaro. The 
most convenient one is to Uruapan, forty-seven miles by 
trail to the southwest. There are two small hotels and 
a cotton-factory in TJruapan. The cotton is of excellent 
quality, and is brought from the west (Acapulco) coast by 
pack-mules. Much pottery is made here, and the town 
lies in the midst of a coffee and sugar growing district. 
The coffee of Miclioacan is generally considered to be the 
best in Mexico, with the single exception of that from Co- 
Uma. An arroha of coffee (25 pounds) costs $3 at Urua- 



218 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

pan, and at Pdtzcuaro it is worth 30 reales. These figures 
will give the traveler an idea of the great expense of trans- 
portation by mule-back ; i. e., the price for carrying coffee 
in sacks forty-seven miles is at the rate of three cents a 
pound ! There is a cascade near the town worthy of a visit. 

Besides sugar-cane and coffee, Peruvian bark (quina) 
and many medicinal plants, as well as an infinite variety 
of fruits, are grown in the environs of Uruapaji. Twenty 
thousand barrels of native rum {aguardiente) are made an- 
nually in the district of TJruapan. The word "Uruapan" 
comes from TJrani, which means in the Tarasc language ^^a 
chocolate-cup " {jicara), because the Indians in this region 
devote themselves to the manufacture and painting of these 
objects, in which industry they have thus far excelled. 

The line of railroad from Pdtzcuaro via Uruapan to 
CoUma has been surveyed, but it will doubtless be many 
years before it is completed. 

The tourist can visit Tancitaro, 40 miles from Urua- 
pan, and, if he wishes, travel all the way to the Pacific 
coast. It will be advisable to purchase a horse if the trav- 
eler intends going beyond Uruapan. A good animal can 
be bought for about $40, and one able to accomplish the 
trip to Colima could be had for $25. The climate of Tan- 
citaro is cool, the town being situated at the base of a peak 
of the same name, having an altitude of 11,037 feet. There 
are many gardens of pears, peaches, and apples in the vicin- 
ity. A horse-road leads from Tancitaro to Colima, a dis- 
tance of about 100 miles. The latter place is celebrated 
for producing the finest coffee in the Eepublic. It is pro- 
nounced to be equal to the best Mocha. The berry is of 
small size. The State of Colima yields annually about 
1,980,000 pounds of coffee, valued at 1225,000. Some of 
it is exported to Germany. Cotton, rice, sugar-cane, and 
indigo are also cultivated in this State. 

The city of Colima, situated on the river of the same 



TEE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 



219 



name, has a population of 32,000 souls, which is equal to half 
the number of inhabitants of the entire State. There are 
some French, German, and English settlers. The volcano 
of Colima, 11,140 feet high, lies near the city. It is snow- 
clad in winter, but the summer sun melts the white cover- 
ing. This peak is conspicuously seen far out to sea, beiug 
only 25 miles from the coast. A wagon-road goes from 
Colima to Manzanillo, about 70 miles distant. The latter 




The City of Colima. 

town is the terminus of the western branch of the Mexican 
National Railway. The distance from the national capital 
is 615 miles. The Pacific Mail steamers touch at Manza- 
nillo once a month. Manzanillo is 1,685 miles from San 
Francisco, Cal., and 1,742 miles from Panama. 

It may be remarked that the Hon. William H. Seward 
landed at Manzanillo in 1869, and traveled into the interior 
via Colima and Guadalajara. He received a most enthu- 
siastic reception. 



220 CITIES A^D ROUTES OP TRAVEL. 

The usual plan of building railways in Mexico, i. e., 
to begin at both ends, and work toward an intermediate 
point, has been adopted by the Mexican National Eailway 
Company, and on October 1, 1883, about thirty miles of 
track had been laid from Manzanillo to Colima. The dis- 
tance between the two towns via Artneria is 60 miles by 
rail. 

Leaving Colima, the Mexican National line makes a 
great bend to the northeast, curves around the northern 
side of Lake Chapala, and then runs southeasterly to More- 
lia via Zaniora. 

The railroad from Manzanillo to Morelia will be about 
380 miles long. (See chapter on railways in Part First.) 

The climate of Manzanillo is unhealthy for Europeans, 
and the tourist is advised not to linger long in the vicinity. 

5. From Patzcuaro via Ario to Jokullo ; * distauce, 55 miles by horse-road. 

This is a rough trip, owing to the absence of wagon- 
roads and hotels along the route. It has charms, however, 
especially to the geologist and lover of natural scenery ; and 
the traveler will be amply repaid for the four or five days 
of comparative hardship necessary for the journey. 

Tourists should hire saddle-horses in Patzcuaro. If there 
are two or three in the party, it will be expedient to take a 
man-servant or mozo. Three horses and a mozo can be ob- 
tained at the rate of 14 daily, and the price of stabling. 
The cost of feeding each horse will be about one real a 
day. If the traveler wishes to go alone, and is able to talk 
in Spanish, a mozo will be unnecessary, although useful. 

Leaving the quaint town of Patzcuaro, the road as- 
cends for about two miles, when a densely- wooded plateau 
is reached. This route, formerly practicable for wagons, 
is well paved with stone on the heavy grades, and passes 

* Pronounced hoar-rool-yo. 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 



221 



through a region where considerable wheat, maize, and bar- 
ley are cultivated. On reaching the top of the hill, the 
observer may obtain a magnificent view of the Lake of Pdtz- 
cuaro, with the vast rolling country beyond. The hamlet 
of Santa Clara is soon reached. There are copper-smelt- 
ing works here, charcoal being used for fuel. The ore is 
brought in leathern sacks on mule-back from ClmTumuco 





Manzanillo Bay. 

and Inguaran, about 65 miles distant. It is worth from 
$10 to 120 per carga (300 pounds). Proceeding farther, 
the traveler will traverse a well-timbered district. Stately 
ash-trees line the streets of one of the villages, and the for- 
ests in the neighborhood contain fine spruces and pines. 
A French settler is about to erect a steam saw-mill here. 
A great deal of freight is carried along this route. One 



222 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

meets many pack-trains of mules coming chiefly from 
Acapulco, which is 290 miles from Pdtzcuaro. A train is 
usually composed of forty mules with five men who act as 
packers, or car g adores. A day's journey is sixteen miles. 
Mules are worth from 135 to 140 in this part of Mexico, 
and an aparejo, or leathern pack-saddle, costs 15. 

The men who accompany the pack-trains usually ride 
horses, and are armed with the largest size of revolvers. 
Most of the freight goes northward. It consists largely of 
the cotton that grows in the State of Guerrero, and which 
is put up in bales of about 150 pounds each. A good mule 
will carry two bales all day. 

Kegs of brandy, boxes of wine, small wares, and, of 
course, provisions and cooking utensils for the packers, are 
also carried by the mule-trains. On the return trip toward 
the Pacific coast, many of the animals go without a load, 
so that the tourist can secure transportation for himself 
and baggage if desirous of going to Acapulco. 

As the traveler apjoroaches Ario, a beautiful view is 
presented from a point about two miles from the town. 
The " Coast Range," or the southern part of the Sierra 
Madre, is visible, together with the broad plain at the base, 
the surface of which is dotted with numerous hillocks or 
oerrillos. The undulating contour of the table-land, which 
has Just been crossed, can be traced for miles. The most 
prominent object in the landscape, however, is the lofty 
mountain to the southward, known as ''La Estancia de los 
Padres," or the fathers' mansion. This picturesque hill is 
formed of two dome-shaped masses of rock rising from a 
common base. The slopes are very steep, and the summit 
appears to be inaccessible from the northern side. Hum- 
boldt sketched this mountain while in Miclioacan, and a 
picture of it may be found in his collection of views of 
Mexico. The observer can also see substantially the same 
landscape from the Alameda, just outside of Ario, and 



THE MEXICAN' NATIONAL RAILWAY. 



223 



about fifteen minutes' walk from the plaza. It is best to 
go to the Alameda in the afternoon, just as the sun sinks 
behind the lofty Sierra Madre. The plain with its wavy 
surface appears like an inland sea, while the scattered hil- 
locks resemble islets. 

The road now enters Ario. The population amounts 
to 3,000, and the altitude is 6,358 feet, according to Hum- 




A Fad-train. 



boldt, or 866 feet lower than Pdtzcuaro, which is 31 miles 
distant. There are no hotels, but the town can boast of 
four mesones, that furnish accommodation for travelers and 
cattle or sheep. 

The Meson de Ocampo is the best, although to assure a 
good night's rest the tourist should sprinkle flea-powder 
11 



224 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

over the sheets of his bed. The principal restaurant is 
the Fonda de la Bella Utiion, about half a block east of the 
plaza. The inhabitants of the town are very polite to 
strangers. Travelers should, if possible, procure letters of 
recommendation to residents in the neighboring villages 
which they intend to visit. The prefect of police will 
send an escort of soldiers to Jorullo, or any other place in 
his district, if asked. The expense of the escort will be 
nothing, but a small gratuity should be given to the ser- 
geant in command. The environs of Ario are very fertile, 
and many excellent farms that produce rice, sugar-cane, 
pepper, fruit, etc., may be easily visited. Fine horses and 
cattle are also reared. The climate of Ario is temperate 
and very healthful. The town is, however, a sort of 
"■ jumping-ofE" place. The land on the south and south- 
west of Ario descends rapidly, and a few hours' Journey 
brings one into the "hot country." 

A Mexican writer has named it "the mouth of the 
tierra caliente.'" The inhabitants feel the want of a wagon- 
road that would facilitate transj)ortation of the valuable 
staple products to the State of Guerrero or to some of the 
ports on the Pacific. 

Excursions may be taken to Tacamharo, 20 miles to the 
eastward, or to Uruapan on the west. The former town 
produces much sugar and rum. The latter place has been 
described on page 217. 

Leaving Ario, the road leads to La Play a, at the base 
of the famous volcano of Jorullo, about 24 miles distant. 
We notice several haciendas, and some groves of pine and 
oak along the route. The country is gently rolling for sev- 
eral leagues. After traversing a forest, the path becomes 
narrow and uneven. Suddenly it descends rapidly over 
rocky ground to a small liacienda. 

The road is paved with cobble-stones for some dis- 
tance, and the hamlet of Tejamanil is soon reached. The 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 225 

tourist is now in the tierra caliente. The houses in the 
village are made of cane-stalks and thatched chiefly with 
palm-leaves ; but the principal building is of two stories, 
and built of adobe, with a roof of red tiles. There is a 
store in the latter, and a fondita adjoining. The accom- 
modations here are primitive, but it is the best place for 
the traveler to stop at, unless he has letters to the govern- 
mental inspector of police, who lives at La Playa, three 
miles farther on. 

There are fields of sugar-cane near by. Bananas and 
the indigo-plant also grow here. The main occu^^ation of 
the natives is to collect palm-leaves from the adjoining 
hacienda, and cut them up in strips, taking the thin fibers 
for brooms, brushes, etc. The long strips of palm are 
folded over and packed together with tight cords. They 
are made into bundles about five feet long and a foot 
and a half in diameter, and carried to Ario on the backs 
of men and donkeys. It should be said that there are 
many porters in this section of the country. They trans- 
port mostly pottery and dressed palm-leaves, and travel 
about twenty miles daily with a load in this warm climate. 
The author saw a porter without a load walk thirty-one 
miles in seven and a half hours. He kept up with the 
writer's horse for the greater part of the distance. There 
is a native sugar-mill near Tejamanil, where the cane is put 
in a sort of hopper, and then passed through wooden roll- 
ers. The power is furnished by a yoke of oxen attached 
to a long shaft as in a horse-whim. 

The road descends all the way to the hamlet of Fuerta 
de la Playa, containing about a dozen huts, besides the 
house and store of the inspector of police, Don Francisco 
de Vega. Indigo {anil) grows in the river-bottom behind 
Senor Vega's residence. It is a wild bush about four feet 
high, and has a thin bark. The leaf resembles a fern. 
The Indians prepare it for the market by pounding the 



226 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TBAVEL. 

seeds with a huge wooden hammer and extracting the juice. 
The climate of La Playa is dry and very hot. The ther- 
mometer in the winter season reaches 90° Fahr. at midday. 
It is much warmer in summer. The soil consists of dark 
volcanic sand, and it is called mat pais — i. e., bad country. 
The region abounds with dangerous insects, such as scor-. 
pions, spiders, etc. A few rattlesnakes are found here. 
The traveler is advised to shake out his boots in the morn- 
ing, as insects and reptiles are apt to crawl into them dur- 
ing the night. Should he sleep in a Mexican hut, it will 
be expedient to keep on all clothing (including boots), on 
account of the vermin. 

During the French invasion a battalion of soldiers, 
numbering about five hundred, marched down to this cor- 
ner of the Eepublic. After camping in the plain for a few 
days they returned to A7H0, fully satisfied that the natives 
had been impressed with the importance of these Gallic 
visitors. 

The ultimate destination of the tourist, the well-known 
volcano of Jorullo, will now be described. 

The trail up the mountain leaves the Acapulco road at 
La Playa. 

The base of the cone of the volcano is about three miles 
distant. Whether the traveler passes the night at Tejama7iil, 
or at Senor Vega's residence, he should set out before day- 
light (say 4 A. M.), in order to reach the summit and return 
before the sun becomes too hot. One hour will be requisite 
to go from Tejamanil to La Playa in the dark. Leaving 
the main road, the path traverses a barren sandy plateau 
covered with bowlders of black scoriaceous basalt. Pres- 
ently the grade ascends, and we pass through underbrush 
and groves of the TiuisacM and tepejuaje trees. Horses 
can be ridden to within half a mile of the crater. A Mexi- 
can peasant may be hired to act as guide for the sum of one 
dollar. He will take care of the tourist's horse, if no mozo 



TEE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 227 

accompanies him, and point out the way to the summit, 
which can readily be ascended alone. About two hours 
will be necessary to arrive at the crater from the Puerta de 
la Playa. The scientific tourist will want to spend as much 
time on the volcano. A thermometer should be taken along 
to measure the temperature of the hot gases escaping from 
the fumaroles. 

The general direction of the mountain-mass of Jorullo 
is north and south. The volcano is pear-shaped, the outlet 
of the crater being on the north side. The cone is covered 
with loose black ashes in which a few bushes grow, and its 
slojje on the north and west sides is about forty-five degrees. 

The crater is about a mile in circumference, and the 
diameter from north to south is estimated at 500 yards, the 
distance from east to west being a little less. The highest 
point is on the east side. According to Baron von Hum- 
boldt's measurements, the summit of this volcano is 4,267 
feet above the level of the sea, or 1,683 feet above the 
''Playas de Jorullo,'' which is probably the same place that 
now bears the name of Puerta de la Playa, often called 
simply La Playa. 

Many clefts and fumaroles are found in the edge of the 
crater. The writer took the temperatures of some of them 
as follows : aqueous vapor escaping from the west side was 
found to be 133° Fahr., and sulphurous-acid gas in & fuma- 
role at the mouth of the crater had a mean temperature of 
130° Fahr., the column of mercury rising and falling a few 
degrees while the thermometer was exposed to the hot 
vapor. The traveler can make the circuit of the crater 
without difficulty. 

Grass about four feet high, a few ferns, and tepejuaje 
and cliangungo (native trees), grow on the border. Deer 
are abundant on the mountain. There is an immense 
stream of lava on the north side, having a dark-red color, 
owincj to the oxidation of the iron in the rock. It is com- 



228 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

posed of scoriaceous basalt, and looks like the slag of a 
furnace. 

The rocks of Joriillo, however, are neither uniform in 
texture nor composition. They vary in color from black 
and red to gray and grayish white. Bluish basalt containing 
olivine occurs near the bottom of the crater, and whitish- 
gray trachyte forms the greater part of it. The latter rock 
is traversed with a few small veins of sulphur. 

The tourist may descend to the bottom of the mouth of 
the volcano, which is about 500 feet below the summit. 
The walls slant rapidly and are covered with an enormous 
mass of talus, containing many angular fragments of red 
and black rocks. Shocks of earthquake are often felt in 
the environs of Jorullo, extending sometimes as far as Mo- 
relia, 60 miles distant. 

A recent earthquake (in March, 1883) was perceptible at 
Ario for the space of two minutes, and cracks were formed 
in the ground at a point ten miles off. 

Although no eruption has taken place for upward of a 
hundred years, this volcano is still in a semi-active state, 
as shown by the heat of the crater-walls, the emission of 
sulphurous gas and aqueous vapor, and the frequency of 
earthquakes. Another stream of lava might flow out of 
Jorullo at any time. 

The view from the summit next demands attention. It 
is very extensive. The eye follows the contour of the 
Sierra Madre to the westward for more than 100 miles, 
until the lofty volcano of Colima, capped with snow, bounds 
the horizon. The picturesque mountain. La Estancia de 
las Padres, is very conspicuous, and also the grassy plain 
in front of it, having a breadth of forty-five miles. On the 
south the country is much broken in outline, and to the 
eastward the observer may trace the undulating surface of 
the table-land. Looking northerly, one sees the sugar-cane 
fields and banana-groves near Tejamanil, whose bright verd- 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 229 

Tire forms a pleasant contrast to the greater part of the 
desert landscape. The tourist may also have an excellent 
view of the palm-tree hacienda in the valley, which yields 
an income of about $10,000 a year. It is the largest in 
Miclwacan. 

The descent from the cone of Jorullo is easy, and the 
Puerta de la Plaija can be reached in about an hour, the 
path being mostly down-grade. The appearance of Jorullo 
from the valley is worthy of mention. If the observer 
has time to geologize, let him speculate upon the original 
size of the plain before the eruption of 1759. This volcano 
is the culminating point of a narrow ridge about six miles 
long, and running due north and south. There are other 
hills of igneous rock on the eastern and northeastern bor- 
ders of the plain. The valley of La Playa is now about a 
mile wide and six miles long. A rough estimate would 
make the breadth of it about eight miles before the eleva- 
tion of Joridlo. 

Alexander von Humboldt explored this region in 1803, 
and wrote a lengthy account of the great volcano in his 
journal. It is also described both in the Essai Politique 
sur la Nouvelle Espagne and in the Cosmos, The follow- 
ing extracts are taken from Otte and Dallas's translation of 
the Cosmos, vol. v, pages 291-300 : 

"In the series of Mexican volcanoes, . . . the most celebrated phe- 
nomenon is the elevation of the newly-produced Jorullo, and its effusion of 
lava. . . . The eruption in a broad and long-peaceful plain, in the former 
province of Michoacan, in the night from the 28th to the 29th of Septem- 
ber, 1759, at a distance of more than 120 miles from any other volcano, was 
preceded for fully three months, namely, from the 29th of June in the same 
year, by an uninterrupted and subterranean noise. . . . 

" The eruption of the new volcano, about three o'clock in the morning, 
was foretold the day before by a phenomenon which, in other eruptions, 
does not indicate their commencement, but their conclusion. At the point 
where the great volcano now stands there was formerly a thick wood of the 
Guayava. . . . 



230 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

" Laborers from the sugar-cane fields {canavercdes) of the Hacienda de 
San Pedro Jorullo . . . had gone out to collect the fruit of the guayava. 
When they returned to the farm {liacienda) it was remarked with astonish- 
ment that their large straw hats were covered with volcanic ashes. Fis- 
sures had consequently already opened in what is now called the Malpais, 
probably at the foot of the high basaltic dome El Cuiche, which threw out 
ashes {lapilli) before any change appears to have occurred in the plain. . . . 

" In the first hours of the night, the black ashes already lay a foot 
deep ; every one fled toward the hill of Aguasarco, a small Indian village, 
situated 2,409 feet higher than the old plain of Jorullo. 

" From this height (so runs the tradition) a large tract of land was seen 
in a state of fearful fiery eruption, and, ' in the midst of the flames (as those 
who witnessed the ascent of the mountain expressed themselves), there ap- 
peared, like a black castle {castillo negro), a great shapeless mass {bulto 
grande).'' 

" From the small population of the district (the cultivation of indigo 
and cotton was then but very little carried on), even the force of long- 
continued earthquakes cost no human lives, although, as I learn from manu- 
script record, houses were overturned by them near the copper-mines of 
Inguaran, in the small town of Patzcuaro, in Santiago de Ario, and many 
miles farther, but not beyond San Pedro Churumucu. In the Hacienda dft 
Jorullo, during the general nocturnal flight, they forgot to remove a deaf 
and dumb negro slave. A mulatto had the humanity to return and save 
him, while the house was still standing. It is still related that he was 
found kneeling, with a consecrated taper in his hand, before the picture 
of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. 

" According to the tradition, widely and concordantly spread among the 
natives, the eruption during the first days consisted of great masses of rock, 
scoriae, sand, and ashes, but always combined with an effusion of muddy 
water. In the memorable report already mentioned, of the 19th of Octo- 
ber, 1759, the author of which was a man who, possessing an accurate 
knowledge of the locality, describes what had only just taken place, it is 
expressly said : ' Que espele el dicho. Volcan arena, ceniza y agua.'' 

" All eye-witnesses relate . . . that, before the terrible mountain made 
its appearance, . . . the earthquakes and subterranean noises became more 
frequent ; but, on the day of the eruption itself, the flat soil was seen to rise 
perpendicularly, . . . and the whole became more or less inflated, so that 
blisters (vcxigones) appeared, of which the largest is now the volcano. . . . 

" These inflated blisters of very various sizes, and partly of a tolerably 
regular conical form, subsequently burst . . . and threw boiling-hot earthy 
mud from their orifices, ... as well as scoriaceous stony masses, . . . 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 231 

which are still found, at an immense distance, covered with black, stony- 
masses. 

" These historical records, which we might, indeed, wish to see more 
complete, agree perfectly with what I learn from the mouths of the natives, 
fourteen years after the ascent of Antonio de Kiaiio.* To the questions 
whether ' the castle mountain ' was seen to rise gradually for months or 
years, or whether it appeared from the very first as an elevated peak, no 
answer could be obtained. 

" According to the tradition, the phenomena of small eruptions of water 
and mud, which were observed during the first days simultaneously with 
the incandescent scoria?, are ascribed to the destruction of two brooks, 
which, springing on the western declivity of the mountain of Santa Incs, 
and consequently to the east of the Ccrro de Cuiche, abundantly irrigated 
the cane-fields of the former Ilacienda de San Pedro de Jorullo, and flowed 
onward far to the west to the Hacienda de la Prcsentacion. Near their 
origin, the point is still shown where they disappeared in a fissure, with their 
formerly cold waters, during the elevation of the eastern border of the 
Malpais. Running below the kornitos, they reappear, according to the 
general opinion of the people of the country, heated in two thermal 



" In order to acquire a clear notion of the complicated outline and gen- 
eral form of the surface of the ground in which such remarkable upheavals 
have taken place, we must distinguish hypsometrically and morphologically : 

" 1. The position of the volcanic system of Jorullo in relation to the 
average level of the Mexican plateau. 2. The convexity of the Malpais, 
which is covered with thousands of hornilos. 3. The fissure upon which 
six large volcanic mountain-masses have arisen. 

" On the western portion of the central Cordillera of Mexico, which strikes 
from south-southeast to north-northwest, the plain of the Playas de Jo- 
rullo, at an elevation of only 2.557 feet above the level of the Pacific, 
forms one of the horizontal mountain terraces which everywhere in the Cor- 
dilleras interrupt the line of inclination of the declivity, and consequently 
more or less impede the decrease of heat in the superposed strata of the 
atmosphere. 

" On descending from the central plateau of Mexico (whose mean eleva- 
tion is 7,460 feet) to the corn-fields of Yalladolid de Michoacan, to the 
charming Lake of Patzcuaro with the inhabited islet Janicho, and into the 
meadows around Santiago de Ario, which Bonpland and I found adorned 
with the dahlias, which have since become so well known, we have not de- 
scended more than nine hundred or a thousand feet. 

* In 1803. 



232 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



" But in passing from Ario on the steep declivity over Aguasarco, into 
the level of the old plain of Jorullo, we diminish the absolute elevation in 
this short distance by from 3,850 to 4,250 feet. The roundish convex part 
of the upheaved plain is about 12, 790 feet in diameter, so that its area is 
more than seven square miles. The true volcano of Jorullo and the five 
other mountains which rose simultaneously with it upon the same fissure, 
are so situated that only a small portion of the Malpais lies to the east of 
them. 

" Toward the west, therefore, the number of horniios is much larger ; and 
when, in early morning, I issued from the Indian huts of the Playas de Jo- 




t/or mKo. 



rullo or ascended a portion of the Cerro del Mirador, I saw the black volcano 
projecting very picturesquely above the innumerable white columns of smoke 
of the ' little ovens ' (hornifos). Both the houses of the Playas and the basaltic 
hill Mirador are situated upon the level of the old non-volcanic, or, to speak 



THE MEXICAN KATIOXAL RAILWAY. 233 

more cautiously, unuphcaved soil. Its beautiful vegetation, in which a 
multitude of salvias bloom beneath the shade of a new species of ia.n- 
Tpalm {Cori/pha pumas), and of a new alder {Aliius Jorullcnsis), contrasts 
with the desert, naked aspect of the MaJpais. 

" The comparison of the height of the barometer, at the point where the 
upheaval commences in the Playas, with that at the point immediately at 
the foot of the volcano, gives 473 feet of relative perpendicular elevation. 
The house that we inhabited stood only about 500 toises (3,197 feet) from 
the border of the Malpais. At that place there was a small perpendicular 
precipice of scarcely twelve feet high, from which the heated water of the 
brook (Rio de San Pedro) falls down. 

"The portion of the inner structure of the soil, which I could examine 
at the precipice, showed black, horizontal, loamy strata, mixed with sand 
(lapiUi). At other points which I did not see, Burkart has observed 'on 
the perpendicular boundary of the upheaved soil where the ascent of this is 
difficult, a light gray and not very dense (weathered) basalt, with numerous 
grains of olivine.' 

" This accurate and experienced observer has, however, like myself, on 
the spot, conceived the idea of a vesicular upheaval of the surface effected 
by elastic vapors, in opposition to the opinion of celebrated geognosists, 
who ascribe the convexity, which I ascertain by direct measurement, solely 
to the greater effusion of lava at the foot of the volcano. 

" The many thousand small eruptive cones (properly rather of a round- 
ish or somewhat elongated oven-like form), which cover the upheaved sur- 
face pretty uniformly, are on the average four to nine feet in height. They 
have risen almost exclusively on the western side of the great volcano, as, 
indeed, the eastern part toward the Cer7-o de Cuiche scarcely constitutes one 
twenty-fifth of the entire area of the vesicular elevation of the Playas. 

"Each of the numerous horniios is composed of weathered basaltic 
spheres, with fragments separated like concentric shells ; I was frequently 
able to count from twenty-four to twenty-eight such shells. The balls are 
flattened into a somewhat spheroidal form, and are usually fifteen to eight- 
een inches in diameter, but vary from one to three feet. The black basal- 
tic mass is penetrated by hot vapors and broken up into an earthy form, 
although the nucleus is of greater density; while the shells, when detached, 
exhibit yellow spots of oxide of iron. Even the soft, loamy mass which 
unites the balls is, singularly enough, divided into curved lamcllfe, which 
wind through all the interstices of the balls. 

" At the first glance I asked myself whether the whole, instead of 
weathered basaltic spheroids, containing but little olivine, did not perhaps 
present masses disturbed in the course of their formation. But in opposi- 



234 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

tion to this we have the analogyof the hills of globular basalt, mixed with 
layers of clay and marl, which are found, often of very small dimensions, in 
the centi-al chain of Bohemia, sometimes isolated and sometimes crowning 
long basaltic ridges at both extremities. 

" Some of the hornitos are so much broken up, or have such large inter- 
nal cavities, that mules, when compelled to place their fore-feet upon the 
flatter ones, sink in deeply, while in similar experiments which I made the 
hills constructed by the termites resisted. In the basaltic mass of the hoi-- 
nitos I found no immersed scoriae, or fragments of old rocks which had 
been penetrated, as in the case of the lavas of the great Jorullo. The ap- 
pellation homos or hornitos is especially justified by the circumstance that 
in each of them (I speak of the period when I traveled over the Playas de 
Jorullo and wrote my journal, 18th of September, 1803) the columns of 
smoke break out, not from the summit, but laterally. 

" In the year 1*780, cigars might still be lighted, when they were fastened 
to a stick and pushed into a depth of two or three inches ; in some places 
the air was at that time so much heated in the vicinity of the hornitos, that 
it was necessary to turn away from one's proposed course. 

"Notwithstanding the refrigeration which, according to the universal 
testimony of the Indians, the district had undergone within twenty years, 
I found the temperature in the fissures of the hornitos to range between 
199° and 203° ; and, at a distance of twenty feet from some hills, the tem- 
perature of the air was still 108-5° and 116'2° at a point where no vapors 
reached me, the true temperature of the atmosphere of the Playas being at 
the same time scarcely 77°. 

" The weak sulphuric vapors decolorized strips of test-paper, and rose 
visibly for some hours after sunrise, to a height of fully sixty feet. 

" The view of the columns of smoke was most remarkable early in a 
cool morning. Toward midday, and even after eleven o'clock, they had be- 
come very low and very visible only from their immediate vicinity. In the 
interior of many of the hornitos we heard a rushing sound, like the fall of 
water. The small basaltic hornitos are, as already remarked, easily de- 
structible. When Burkart visited the Malpais twenty-four years after me, 
he found that none of the hornitos were still smoking, their temperature be- 
ing in most cases the same as that of the surrounding air, while many of 
them had lost all regularity of form by heavy rains and meteoric influences. 
Near the principal volcano, Burkart found small cones, which were com- 
posed of a brownish-red conglomerate, of rounded or angular fragments of 
lava, and only loosely coherent. 

" In the midst of the upheaved area covered with hornitos, there is still 
to be seen a remnant of the old elevation on which the buildings of the 



THE MEXICAN' NATIONAL RAILWAY. 235 

farm of San Pedro rested. The hill, which I have indicated in my plan, 
forms a ridge directed east and west, and its preservation at the foot of the 
great volcano is most astonishing. Only a part of it is covered with dense 
sand (burned lapilli). The projecting basaltic rock grown over with ancient 
trunks of Ficus Indica and Psidium, is certainly, like that of the Ccrro del 
Mirador and the high mountain-masses which bound the plain to the east- 
ward, to be regarded as having existed before the catastrophe." * 

Eef erring to the eruption of the volcano, Humboldt 
remarks that the natives ascribe these wonderful changes 
in the earth's surface to the work of the monks. At the 
Playas de Jorullo, the Indian, whose hut the German trav- 
eler occupied, told him that in 1759 the Capuchins belong- 
ing to the mission preached at San Pedro, but failed to re- 
ceive hospitable treatment. Accordingly, they pronounced 
anathemas upon this beautiful and fertile j^lain, predict- 
ing that first of all the houses would be destroyed by 
flames, which would issue from the earth, and that after- 
ward the surrounding air would cool to such a degree that 
the neighboring mountains would remain eternally covered 
with snow and ice. The former of these maledictions hav- 
ing been verified, the lower class of Indians already see in 
the gradual cooling of the volcano the j)resage of a perpet- 
ual winter. 

Should the tourist wish to visit the hornitos that have 
just been described, it may be said that they are about 12 
miles from Puerta de la Playa. There is no hamlet in the 
vicinity. The famous copper-mines of Sa7i Pedro de Jo- 
rullo are about 15 miles distant. These ore deposits were 
worked before the Conquest, and consist of the sulphides and 
oxides of copper. Several tunnels have been driven into the 
side of the mountain about 2,000 feet above the adjacent 
plain. There is from 25 to 60 per cent of metal in the cop- 
per pyrites ; and from 80 to 100 arroias of ore are extracted 
monthly, and carried by mules to Santa Clara (see p. 221). 

* The author has italicized all Spanish words in the above extract. 



236 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

The mining district of Coalcoman lies about 60 miles 
west of Joriillo. There are many mines of gold, silver, 
copper, and lead here. The deposits of iron are also said to 
be as extensive as those of the famous Cerro del Mercado in 
Durango. This circumstance, together with the proximity 
of the district to the Pacific Ocean, gives reason to believe 
that, upon the opening of some of the ports on the coast, 
and the development of the various mines, Coalcoman will 
become the center of wealth and commerce of the State of 
Miclioacan. From Puerta de la Playa the traveler may 
continue the journey southward, crossing the Zacatula 
Eiver to Acapulco, 235 miles distant. The greater part of 
the road follows the outline of the Pacific coast. The river 
can be forded in the dry seasons, but rafts must be used 
during the heavy rains of summer. The climate of Aca- 
pulco is very hot and unhealthy. The town lies on a nar- 
row strip of land, less than half a mile in width, on which 
there is but little soil. It is surrounded by lofty granitic 
mountains, and has about 5,000 inhabitants. There are 
several hotels here. The harbor is the finest in Mexico. 
For many years Vera Cruz was the only other port from 
which goods were shipped to foreign countries. There was 
formerly considerable commerce between Acapulco and the 
Philippine Islands. The Pacific Mail steamships touch at 
Acapulco twice a month. 

The distance from Acapulco to San Francisco is 1,836 
miles, and the fare is (cabin) $100. The fare to Panama 
is the same, and the distance is 1,591 miles. 

The terminus of the Morelos Eailway will be at Acapul- 
co. The town will probably become an important com- 
mercial center when the road is completed. At present the 
only object of interest to the tourist is the artificial cut in 
the mountain {Ahra de San Nicolas), which has been ex- 
cavated for the purpose of admitting the sea-breeze. The 
scenery of the landlocked harbor is picturesque. 



TEE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 237 

Route II. 

PEOM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO LAREDO AKD CORPUS 
CHRISTI. 

1. Mexico to Celaya. 

2. Celaya to Sa7i Luis Potosi. 

3. San Luis Potosi to Saltillo. 

4. Saltillo to Monterey. 

5. Monterey to Laredo. 

6. Laredo to Corpus Christi. 

1. Mexico to Celaya, 219 miles. 

(For description of this tour as far as Acamharo, and 
thence to Celaya, see Eoute I, pp. 202-210.) 

2. From Celata to San Luis Potosi, 

Leaving the Junction of this line with the Mexican Cen- 
tral Railroad at Celaya, the route will go northward to San 
Luis Potosi, about 120 miles distant. This diyision of the 
road will traverse a fine agricultural country. 

On October 15, 1885, the main line had been constructed 
as far as San Miguel de Allende, 55*12 kilometres north of 
Celaya. The intermediate stations are 3folino del Soria 
(15 "03 kilometres) and Chamacuero (22*06 kilometres). 
The track is rapidly approaching San Luis Potosi. A daily 
stage-coach runs from this city to the temporary terminus. 

SAI^" LUIS POTOSI. 

Population, 35,000 in 1883 ; elevation, 6,150 feet. 

Hotels. — San Fernando, Del Progrcso, San Carlos, San Luis, Ameiicano. 
Baths of San Jose, in Calle de Rayon, at 3 and 4 reales ; one of the 
finest bath-houses in Mexico. 

Post-Office, about two blocks north of the baths. 
English Bankers. — Pitman & Co., opposite the Cathedral. 

San Luis, as it is generally called, is a fine city. It is 
the capital of the State of the same name. The streets are 



238 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

laid out at right angles to each other, and are well paved. 
The houses are mostly of two stories. There are several 
public squares and a fine park. The city covers a large 
area. It lies in a broad and fertile plain, surrounded, by 
lofty sierras. The climate is delightful, the thermometer 
rarely falling as low as the freezing-point. 

Places of Interest. — 1. The Cathedral. 2. The Mint. 3. The City- 
Hall. 4. The Church of El Carmen. 5. The Church of San Francisco. 
6. The Church of San Agustin. 7. The Church of La Merced. 8. The 
Church of Guadalupe. 9. The Chapels of El Rosario and Los Remedios. 
10. The Alameda. 11. The Plaza mayor. 

The cathedral contains a beautiful clock that strikes the 
hours. It is in the facade between the towers, and was sent 
as a present to the city from a King of Spain. The tourist 
should ascend one of the towers for a view of the environs. 
The entrance is on the plaza, just north of the principal 
door of the cathedral. There is a large monument erected 
in honor of the patriot Hidalgo in the center of the plaza. 

A horse-car track has Just been laid in the streets, and 
the electric light and telephones are already in use. An 
American capitalist has recently purchased a lot on the 
Alameda, with the intention of building a first-class hotel. 

The citizens of San Luis are noted for their hospitality. 
Balls are given in the winter season, to which strangers 
may be invited through some merchant or banker. There 
is a large garrison here, and the military band plays in the 
Plaza mayor three times a week. 

This city will soon become a great railway center. 

The eastern division of the Mexican Central Eailroad is 
being pushed forward from Tampico as rapidly as possible. 
At present 3,600 men are employed on this section of the 
line. It is expected that the road will reach San Luis Po- 
tosi on July 1, 1885. It will be carried westward toward 
the main line, making a Junction probably at Aguascalien- 
tes. (For description of this railway, see Section V.) 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 



239 



A branch road of the Mexican National Eailway is pro- 
jected to Zacatecas. The distance is about 150 miles. 
San Luis is now a central station for diligence-lines. 
The proprietors of the Diligencias Generales run stage- 




Interior of a Modern Mexican House. 



coaches as follows : To Queretaro, 160 miles, fare, $10 ; 
to Lagos, 117 miles, fare, $10 ; to Saltillo, 331 miles, fare, 
$30 ; to El Maiz, 104 miles, fare, $10 ; to Pi7ios, 71 miles, 
fare, $8. 



240 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

Connection with Tampico may be made at El Maiz by 
liorseback, 104 miles to the Rio Panuco, then by steamer 
eastward to the raih'oad terminus. The site of San Luis is 
far preferable to that of Mexico. When the two American 
trunk-lines are finished, it is believed that the former city 
will soon become a rival of the latter in commercial impor- 
tance. At present freight charges to San Luis are enor- 
mous — e. g., a box of snuff, valued at $9 in New Orleans, 
will cost 150 delivered in San Luis via Laredo, including 
the duties. 

Eesidents of this city are taxed heavily for the railroad 
toward Tampico. They pay three per cent of their annual 
income. An extensive trade in groceries, leather, shoes, 
saddlery, bagging, cassimeres, hats, and grain is carried on 
here. Fruit and the cereals grow in the environs. It is said 
that twenty bushels of Indian corn are produced to the acre. 

This State is rich in minerals, although but few of the 
mines are worked at present, owing to lack of capital. The 
famous San Pedro mine is near the city. The pillars hav- 
ing been cut away, the roof of the mine has fallen in. 
Mining engineers state that there is still a large body of ore 
awaiting development. The biggest piece of native gold 
ever found in Mexico is said to have been taken out of the 
San Pedro. It was sent to the reigning King of Spain as 
a gift, and in return the Spanish sovereign presented a 
clock to the cathedral, which has already been described. 

3. From San Luis Potosi to Saltillo ; time, 4 days. 

Leaving San Luis Potosi, the railroad will be continued 
northward through Venado, Cliarcas, and Encarnacion, to 
Saltillo, a distance of about 330 miles. The road will cross 
the great table-land, and the grading will be easy. The 
engineers report that the line just mentioned can be con- 
structed in about the same time that has been necessary 
to lay the track between Monterey and Saltillo. At the 



THE MEXICAN' NATIONAL RAILWAY. 241 

present time the stage-coach route from Scm Luis to the 
north passes through Charcas, Matehuala, Cedral, La Ven- 
tura, and Saltillo ; thence by rail to Laredo via Monterey. 
The diligence starts daily from San Luis at 4 a. m. 

The average distance traversed is about 82 miles a day. 
The taverns along the road are very inferior, and the tour- 
ist is advised to provide himself with beef-tea, canned 
goods, red wine, etc. The route from San Luis Potosi to 
Saltillo may be briefly described as follows : The road leads 
northward from the former city over the broad and level 
valley, in which mesquite, maguey, and 7iopal grow for many 
miles. The picturesque sierra bounds the plain on the east, 
while a rolling country is seen to the westward. The town 
of Montezuma, famous for its red wine, is passed on the way. 

The first night is spent at Charcas, which has about 
the same elevation as San Luis Potosi. The meson is clean, 
and the water good. There is a telegraph here. The popu- 
lation numbers about 2,000, and the distance from San 
Luis is 91 miles. 

Leaving Charcas, the road trends slightly to the north- 
east, and lies over a broad plain for several miles, when the 
mountains of Catorce come into view. The diligence stops 
at Matehuala for dinner. Tlie hotel is tolerably well kept. 
This city has a population of 15,000, and contains many 
haciendas de heneficios, or silver-reducing works. There 
are also silver-mines in the vicinity. 

Catorce is 13 miles distant. It has about 12,000 inhab- 
itants, but no hotel. The population at one time reached 
20,000. Some of the richest veins of silver in the Eepub- 
lic are found in the vicinity. They are owned chiefly by 
Spaniards and Englishmen. During the French invasion a 
mint was established here. The mines of Catorce have not 
paid well for the last few years ; but it is said that some 
rich pockets of ore have been found very recently, while 
driving a tunnel, in one of the old Spanish claims. 



242 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

Tlie word " catorce''' means fourteen. The town was 
named after a band of fourteen robbers, who were the ter- 
ror of the neighborhood for many years. 

On reaching Matehuala, the traveler enters a region 
abounding with blue limestone. The water is purgative, 
and sh.ould be drunk sparingly. The road continues over 
a level plain toward Cedral, about 13 miles farther. In 
places, the tourist may see solid stone fences, marking the 
boundaries of haciendas, or farms. These fences are often 
carried up to the summits of the adjacent ridges. 

The soil is little cultivated between Cliarcas and Cedral. 
Irrigation is necessary, and there are no acequias or ditches. 
By taking advantage of the rainy season, however, more 
cereals could be grown. This portion of the great northern 
table-land, like the others, will always yield more in min- 
eral than in agricultural products, unless water companies 
are organized, and tanks built in the ravines of the sierras 
for irrigation. 

The second night is passed at Cedral, 78 miles from 
Cliarcas, The former town has about 4,000 inhabitants 
and two taverns. The Diligencias is the better. It has 
accommodation for eight passengers. There are several 
silver-reducing mills in Cedral. The ores come from Ga- 
tor ce, and contain sulphur. They are roasted, therefore, in 
a reverberatory furnace, before being crushed and amalga- 
mated. The pyramidal mountain of El Fraile stands near 
the town. It may be ascended by a bridle-path to a point 
a short distance from the summit, and thence on foot. 

Leaving Cedral, there is a good road to La Ventura, 
81 miles distant, over a broad valley, bordered with sierras 
on either side. There is but little vegetation to be seen, 
other than the Jiuisaclii, tnesqiiite, and shrub-palms. At 
El Salado, about 27 miles from Cedral, a stop is made for 
lunch. We are now on the eastern boundary of one of the 
largest estates in Mexico, the Hacienda del Salado. It lies 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 243 

partly in the four States of San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, 
Nuevo Leon, and Coahuila. There are 8,000 horses and 
3,000 cattle on the farm. Wells and tanks are used for 
watering the stock, as no running streams exist here. 

The next night is spent in La Ventura, at the ranch 
of General Trevino. This spot lies in a broad plain, sur- 
rounded by lofty ridges of mountains. There is a large 
pond in the rear of the farm-house, where the tourist can 
bathe. The " hotel " accommodation is very poor, and the 
traveler is warned to beware of fleas {pulgas). 

Leaving La Ventura, where the elevation is 5,840 feet, 
the road continues level for several miles. The limestone 
rock still covers the country. Presently a long hill is as- 
cended, and Agua Nueva is reached. Here the altitude is 
6,380 feet. This is a fertile spot, and affords good water. 
It is about 20 miles from Saltillo. This part of the route is 
celebrated in Mexican history as being the scene of battles, 
both during the War of Independence as well as in the con- 
flict with the United States. A few miles farther is the 
hamlet of La Encantada, having an elevation of 6,171 feet. 
General Taylor Avith his army encamped here before the 
battle of Buena Vista. 

A wagon-road goes from this place to Parras,* and the 
"laguna country" of Coahuila. The altitude of P arras 
is 4,986 feet, according to Wislizenus. Cotton, fruit, and 
the cereals grow in considerable quantities in the vicinity 
of Parras. The annual crop of the former staple amounts 
to 650,000 pounds. The yucca-tree is common in Coahuila. 
It grows to a height of thirty feet. Some species bear an 
edible fruit which resembles the banana. Proceeding far- 
ther, the traveler crosses the famous battle-field of Buena 
Vista, on a plateau about half a mile wide. Here, on Feb- 
ruary 22 and 23, 1847, the American army, under General 
Taylor, defeated the Mexicans, who were commanded by 

* Parras is about '75 miles west of Saltillo. 



244 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



Santa Anna. The forces of the latter outnumbered those 
of the former by about four to one. 

The stage-road descends from Buena Vista nearly all 
the way to Saltillo, the first part of it being quite rough. 
The difference of elevation between the two points is almost 




Tucca-tree. 



a thousand feet. The jagged ridge of limestone on the 
eastern side of the route soon trends to the eastward, and 
extends as far as Monterey. 

The tourist approaching Saltillo does not see it until 
within about 300 yards of the city. He may have, how- 
ever, an extensive view of the valley in which this town 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 245 

lies, as well as the picturesque sierras bounding it, from the 
plateau on the south. 

After a continual descent, the houses come in sight, and 
the diligence rattles over the cobble-stone pavement of the 
streets to the hotel, stopping first at the post-office to de- 
liver the mail. The city is 81 miles from La Ventura. 

SALTILLO. 

Population, 11,840; elevation, 5,204 feet. 
Hotel. — San Esteban. 

There are a few mesoties. The water for the city is 
brought from the mountains in a long aqueduct. Saltillo 
is the capital of the State of Coahuila, and is a very healthy 
place. It is well built, and contains an Alameda and several 
plazas. The parochial church on the Plaza mayor is worthy 
of a visit. There is a small garrison and a bull-ring here. 
A fort, which was built during the French occupation, 
stands on the hill behind the city. Several cotton-factories 
are found in the neighborhood, and a considerable trade in 
goat and sheep skins is carried on in Saltillo. This city is 
destined to become the emporium of Northeastern Mexico. 
A wagon-road leads to Monclova, 121 miles distant, and 
the Mexican International Railroad, starting from Piedras 
Negras, will probably have a branch line from Monclova to 
Saltillo. The Mexican National Railway began to run 
trains to the latter town about September 15, 1883.* The 
climate is temperate and dry. An American capitalist is 
about to erect a hotel, with all the modern conveniences. 
Saltillo is likely to become a resort for invalids. It has 
many advantages over Colorado, and the distance from 
New York or Philadelphia to either place is about the 
same. 

* On October 15, 1883, the road-bed had been graded to El Salado, 86 
miles south of Saltillo. 



246 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

4. From Saltillo to Monterey, BY'S miles. Diiference of elevation, 3,414 

feet. 

Leaving Saltillo, the railroad traverses a fertile valley, 
in which wheat, barley, and maize are cultivated. The 
views along the ronte are beautiful. The first station is 
Ca2Jellama (8 miles). Passing the hamlets of Oj'o Caliente 
(18-4 miles) and Los Muertos (24-5 miles), we reach Rinco- 
nada (31-1 miles). Here the altitude is 3,316 feet, or 1,888 
feet lower than Saltillo. There is a large ranch near the 
station. The track of the Mexican National Eailway leaves 
the broad canon near Rinconada. The grade now de- 
scends rapidly, and the scenery becomes magnificent. The 
walls of the valley are formed of steep, rocky ridges with 
serrated outlines. The next stop is made at Garcia (46*8 
miles), elevation, 2,465 feet. The next station is Santa 
Catarina (59*8 miles). This village has a population of 
about 1,500. There is a great deal of mesquite and oiopal 
growing in the vicinity. The famous potrero is about 
four miles distant. It is a pasture which is reached by a 
windmg canon intersecting the south side of the lofty and 
rocky sierra. The scenery is very picturesque. The lime- 
stone has been shaped into pinnacles, domes, and towers. 
In fact, it reminds the traveler of a miniature Yosemite. A 
very pleasant excursion from Monterey would be, to take 
the morning train to Santa Catarina, visit the potrero on 
horseback or on foot, and return to the city by the evening 
train. The wagon-road passes Independence Hill, a few 
miles beyond Santa Catarina. It is an artificial mound 
about 150 feet high, with two wooden crosses on the sum- 
mit, erected to the memory of the heroes who fell at the 
battle of Monterey in 1847. There was considerable fight- 
ing in this region during the Mexican War. Among other 
soldiers who fought here and have since become famous, 
may be mentioned General William T. Sherman, who was 
then a lieutenant in the United States Army. 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 



247 



We now pass the stations of Leona (61 '5 miles) and San 
Oeronimo (64 •! miles). Continuing the journey toward 
Monterey, the next place of interest is the Bishop's Palace, 
situated on a hill about 150 feet above the surrounding 
plain. A fort was built on this eminence, and occupied by 
the Mexicans during the war. After a short resistance, the 




Scene on the Northern Plateau. 



Americans caused it to surrender. At present the Bishop's 

Palace is used as a barracks. A company of artillery, with 

half a dozen guns, is stationed here. The city is four miles 

distant. A species of dwarf palm-tree, popularly called the 

dagger-plant, grows along the wagon-road. 

The next stopping-place is Gonzalitos (66 miles), after 

which comes Monterey (67*8 miles). 
12 



248 GITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

M01«rTEEET. 

Population, 40,000 ; elevation, 1,790 feet. 

Hotels. — liurbide, Monterey, Fonda Americana. 

Baths. — Del Refugio, in the Calle de Dr. Mier. 

Carriages. — ^Four reales an hour. 

PosT-Oi'FiCE, on the plaza. 

Telegraph-Office, at the railway-station. 

Horse-Caks, from the plaza to the railway-station ; fare, a medio (6 J cents). 

The city is the capital of the State of Nuevo Leon, and 
is situated on the Rio de Santa Catarina, in latitude 25° 
40' 6" north, and longitude 0° 49' west of Mexico. It lies 
in a broad plain, with the majestic Bishop's Mitre, or Cerro 
de la Mitra, on the west, and the unique Saddle-Mountain, 
or Cerro de la Silla, on the east. Both of these hills are 
formed almost entirely of solid rock. The latter is 4,149 
feet and the former 3,618 feet above the level of the sea. 

Monterey covers a great deal of ground. The houses are 
mostly of one story, except on the two public squares, where 
they have two stories. 

Places of Interest. — 1 . The Cathedral. 2. The Bishop's Palace (al- 
ready described). 3. The New Bridge, or Puente Nuevo. 4. The Tank, 
Ojo de Affua. 5. The Chapel of Guadalupe. — 6, The Market. 

The bridge is famous as the scene of a battle between the 
Mexicans and Americans. The former defended it success- 
fully against the onslaught of the latter. Zealous Catholics 
in Monterey say that the image of the Virgin, then on the 
bridge, assured the victory of their countrymen. 

The tank is much used for washing clothes and for 
bathing. The stranger should ascend the hill known as 
the Caido, beyond the chapel of Guadalupe and due south 
of the city. A carriage may be driven to within a hundred 
yards of the summit, or it can easily be reached on horse- 
back. The view is one of the most picturesque in the Ee- 
public, and affords an opportunity of studying the topog- 
raphy of Monterey and the neighboring battle-fields. 



TEE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 249 

It reminds the traveler of Salzburg, and several other 
towns in the Tyrol. If the tourist intends remaining long 
in the city, he may ascend the Saddle-Mountain, or the 
Bishop's Mitre. A visit should be made to the potrero 
(described on page 246). Native work, such as fancy 
baskets, purses, bird-figures, etc., can be purchased at the 
jail, which is in the old convent of San Francisco. 

Monterey has become more Americanized, perhaps, than 
any other Mexican town. The hotels are kept on the 
American plan ; and merchants, lawyers, doctors, and den 
tists from the United States have established themselves here. 

There are beautiful drives in the vicinity. The climate 
is dry and healthy, although very warm for half the year. 
Monterey is on the isothermal line that passes through the 
Canary Isles, and Canton, in China. The prevailing wind 
is from the southeast. The following temperatures were 
taken in 1865 by Dr. E. Gonzalez, and given to the author . 

Mean temperature of the year "Zl" Fahr. 

Mean temperature of the winter 65° " 

Mean temperature of the summer 83° " 

Hottest month, July 84J° " 

Coldest month, January 51° " 

Maximum temperature, May 25th 107° " 

Minimum temperature, January 24th 32° " 

This city may become a resort for invalids, a few of 
whom passed the winter of 1883 here. The changes of 
temperature, however, are said to be more rapid than at 
Saltillo, and the climate of the latter town is certainly 
much cooler in summer. 

6. From Monterey to Laredo. Distance, 172 miles. Fares : $7.05, first 
class ; $5.75, second class. Two passenger-trains daily. 

Leaving Monterey station, which is about a mile and a 
half from the plaza, the road runs northward over the 
broad plain. The mountains surrounding the city present 



250 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

a magnificent spectacle to the eye, and are seen to best ad- 
vantage from the rear platform of the last car. As the 
train moves onward, they appear to fade out of sight like a 
dissolving view. Much coin and bullion are transported 
over this route. Sometimes $100,000 will be carried in 
the baggage-car of the train. Passing the hamlet of Es- 
tancia (6 miles), the next station is Topo (13 miles). Here 
the elevation is 1,590 feet, or 200 feet lower than Mon- 
terey. 

The next stop is made at Salinas (21 miles), where the 
altitude is 1,432 feet. This town has about 4,000 inhab- 
itants, and is situated on a river of the same name. The 
surrounding region is fertile, and produces fruit. The 
adjoining canon contains silver-mines that are worked at 
the present time. 

Leaving Salinas, the lofty sierra still bounds the plain 
on the west. The ridge-line is, however, somewhat lower 
than at Monterey, and it decreases in height on running 
northward, until it assumes the form of a mesa, or terrace. 

Palo Blanco (43 miles) is the next station, and then the 
train stops at Villaldama (59 miles). A forest of palm- 
trees is passed on the way, and the country to the eastward 
continues level for many miles. The elevation of Villal- 
dama is 1,412 feet, and it is named after Aldama, one of 
the heroes of the War of Independence. The town lies 
about a mile east of the railroad, and was formerly known 
as Boca de los Leones. The population numbers about 
5,000, and it is chiefly descended from Spaniards. There 
are lead-mines in the vicinity, but they have been aban- 
doned, owing to lack of capital. Leaving Villaldama, the 
next station is Bustamante (67 miles), where a stop of 
twenty minutes is made for dinner. The next station is 
Golondrinos (74 miles), where a stock-farm may be visited. 
Passing the hamlet of Salome Botello (83 miles), we reach. 
Lam2)azos (96 miles), which has an elevation of 1,032 feet. 



THE MEXICAN NATIONAL RAILWAY. 



251 



The latter town lies eastward of the track. Mexican 
blankets are manufactured here. 

Opposite Lampazos is the Mesa de los CartuJianes, a 
terrace rising about 2,000 feet above the plain. Its area is 
about 20 X 15 miles, and it is accessible from only one 
point. This plateau affords good water, grass, and timber. 
It was formerly used by Indians as a hiding-place. The 
mesa is owned by Patrick 
Milmo, Esq., an Irish settler, 
who married the daughter 
of an ex-GoYcrnor of Nuevo 
Leon. Mr, Milmo is also 
the proprietor of an im- 
mense amount of real estate 
in Monterey and the adja- 
cent region. 

Leaving Lampazos, the 
train passes Mojina (109 
miles) and Rodriguez (124 
miles). Just before reach- 
ing the latter place the track 
makes a bend to the east. 
The elevation of Rodriguez 
is 651 feet. The country 
is now covered with nopal- 
bushes and mesquite. The 
mountain - ridge gradually 
subsides into the plain. We 

cross the Salado River, and reach Huisacliito (135 miles), 
where the road-bed curves eastward. The next station is 
Jarita (148 miles). Here the altitude is 674 feet. The 
surrounding country is flat and uninteresting as far as the 
frontier. Passing Sancliez (150 miles), Neio Laredo (166 
miles) is reached. The Mexican National Railway crosses 
the Mexican Southern just before reaching its station. 




Varieties of Cactus. 



252 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

N"EW LAREDO. 

Population, about 6,000', elevation, 438 feet. 
Hotel. — Rio Grande. 

This town was a part of old Laredo, on the opposite 
side of the river, before Texas was separated from Mexico. 
Communication has always been made by ferries, until the 
recent completion of the railroad-bridge. New Laredo will 
become an important city when the two American trunk- 
lines are finished. The Mexican National and the Mexican 
Southern Eailway Companies have recently made arrange- 
ments to build jointly a substantial iron bridge across the 
Rio Grande, to replace the wooden trestle-work erected by 
the former company. The new bridge will be used by 
both roads. Leaving New Laredo, the train passes the 
station of Rio Grande (168 miles), and then crosses the 
river, which is about one quarter of a mile wide. The 
next stop is at Mexico Junction (169 miles). The track 
now makes a long bend to the northwest, and reaches 
Laredo, Texas (172 miles). Between the two Laredos, an 
express agent passes through the cars, and checks baggage 
to any part of the latter city. He also sells transfer tickets 
to the depot of the International and Great Northern Eail- 
road, which runs to San Antonio. The customs inspector 
meets the train on arrival at the station of Laredo, and ex- 
amines baggage on the platform without causing any un- 
necessary delay to the passengers. There is a dining-room 
adjoining the station, owned and controlled by the Mexican 
National Eailway Company. 

LAREDO. 

Population, 0,000 ; elevation, 438 feet above the Gulf at Corpus Christi. 
Hotels. — Wilson House, Laredo Hotel. 

Tickets are sold at Laredo to all parts of the United 
States. The distance to San Antonio is 153 miles, and the 



THE MEXICAN NA TIONAL RAIL WA Y. 253 

time is 9i hours. There is but one passenger-train daily. 
The tourist can go eastward from San Antonio to Hous- 
ton and JVew Orleans, or westward toward Ul Paso and 
California. The distance from — 

Miles. 

Laredo to the City of Mexico is . . 820 

Laredo via Houston to New Orleans is '720 

Laredo to St. Louis, Mo., via Texarkana is 1,084 

Laredo to New York via St. Louis is 2,181 

Laredo to New York via New Orleans is 2,398 

8. From Lakedo to Corpus Christi, distance 161 miles. Time, 12i hours. 
Two passenger-trains daily. Fare, $4.83, or three cents a mile. 



The stations between Laredo and Corpus Christi are : 

Miles. 

Laredo 

Mexico Junction 3 



Peseadita 18 

Aguilares 30 

Los Angeles 46 

Pena 61 

Realitos 75 



Miles. 

Sweden 85 

Benavides 91 

San Diego 108 

Collins 121 

Banquete 136 

Rogers 149 

Corpus Christi 161 



Corpus Christi (St. James Hotel) is the terminus of the 
Texas-Mexican Eailway, and is 981 miles from the City of 
Mexico. 

The mean depth of water at high tide on the baj is about 
10 feet, and a recent congressional appropriation has led to 
the improvement of the channel. When the Mexican Na- 
tional Railway is completed, it is expected that merchan- 
dise will be shipped from Europe and from the Eastern and 
Middle States to Corpus Christi, and be sent thence by rail 
direct to the Mexican capital. In this respect, the line 
will have an advantage over its rival, the Mexican Central. 

(For additional information concerning the routes 
through Texas, see Appletons' General Guide to the United 
States.) 



SECTION V. 

The Mexican Central Railway (Ferrocarril Central 
Mexicano). 

(Compare with the chapter on railways.) 
Of the two branches of this road, the southern or prin- 
cipal one will be described first. 

Eoute I. 
FEOM THE CITY OF MEXICO TO ZACATECAS. 

1. Mexico to Queretaro. 

2. Queretaro to Guanajuato. 

3. Guanajuato to Lagos. 

4. Lagos to Guadalajara and San Bias. 

5. Lagos to Zacatecas. 

1, From Mezico to Queretaro, 246 kilometres, or 152| miles. 

Leaving the railroad-station at Buena Vista (elevation, 
7,347 feet), the line runs northward over the broad valley 
of Mexico. The first station is Leclieria (21 kilometres). 
The track of the Mexican National Eailway runs parallel 
with this road for several miles. The grade is slightly as- 
cending, Lecheria being 7,386 feet above the sea-level, or 
39 feet above the City of Mexico. The snow-clad peaks 
of Popocatepetl and Iztacciliuatl remain in full view. We 
now stop at the hamlets of Cuautitlan (27 kilometres), 
Teoloyucan (36 kilometres), and Huehuetoca (47 kilometres). 

Both of these American railroad companies have station- 



THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY, 255 

houses at these three places, and the Mexican National 
Eailway crosses the Mexican Central at Huehuetoca. 

The elevation of this point is 7,533 feet above the sea- 
level, according to Humboldt, or about 140 feet higher than 
the measurement of the railway-engineers. In general, it 
may be said that the distinguished German traveler and sci- 
entist, in taking altitudes with his barometer throughout 
the country, computed the elevations of the various points 
at somewhat higher figures than those of the engineers of 
the several railroads. Wheat and maize are cultivated in 
the vicinity of Huehuetoca. 

This village is famous in Mexican history as being the scene of one of 
the greatest hydraulic operations ever undertaken by man. Frequent in- 
undations of the City of Mexico, in the latter part of the sixteenth century, 
convinced the Spaniards that the system of dikes was insufficient to pro- 
tect the capital. It was decided that the artificial draining of the Lakes of 
Tezaico, Zumpango, and San Cristobal, would be necessary. 

Two intelligent men, Obrcgon and Arciniega, proposed to the Govern- 
ment that a gallery should be made through the hills of Nochisfotic/o, to the 
north-northwest of Huehuetoca. This spot was perhaps the lowest in the 
mountains bounding the valley of Mexico on the north. In ICOV the Marquis 
de Salinas, then viceroy, employed Enrico Martinez to begin the stupendous 
work of building a tunnel through the hills to drain the Mexican lakes. It 
received the name of the Dcsague (canal) de Huehuetoca. Work on the 
famous gallery of Nochistongo was commenced on November 28, IBOY. 
The viceroy, in the presence of the audicncia, applied the first pickaxe, and 
15,000 Indians were given employment. After eleven months of continued 
labor, during which many hundreds of Indians perished from severe treat- 
ment, the tunnel {el socabon) was completed. Its length was more than 
four miles, its width eleven and a half feet, and its height fourteen feet. 

The water flowed through the canal for the first time on September 17, 
1608. In the following December the viceroy and Archbishop of Mexico 
were invited by Martinez to witness it running, from the Lake of Zumpango 
and the Rio de Cuautitlan, through the tunnel. The Viceroy Salinas is 
said to have ridden upward of a mile into this underground passage. 

Scarcely had the water begun to flow from the valley of Mexico toward 
the Atlantic Ocean, when the canal was found to be too small. The loose 
earth surrounding the tunnel began to crumble, and it became necessary to 
support the roof, which was composed of alternate strata of marl and stiff 



256 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

clay. At first wood was used, but afterward masonry was deemed prefer- 
able. The water, however, gradually undermined the lateral walls, and de- 
posited a large quantity of earth and gravel on the bottom of the canal. 
Martinez built small sluices at intervals to clear the passage, to obviate 
these diflSculties. This remedy, however, proved insufficient, and the gallery 
was stopped up by the constant falling in of earth. 

From 1608 to 1614 various schemes for enlarging the canal were dis- 
cussed. In the latter year the court of Madrid, wearied out by the disputes 
of the engineers, sent out Adrian Boot, a Dutchman of large experience in 
hydraulic architecture. He was in favor of the Indian system, and advised 
the construction of great dikes and mounds of earth around the capital. 
He was unable to bring about the relinquishment of the Nochistongo Canal 
till 1623. About this time a new viceroy (Guelves) arrived, who scouted 
the idea that the City of Mexico was in danger of floods. 

He had the temerity to order the desague to be closed, and to make the 
water of the Lakes of Zumpango and San Cristobal return to the Lake of 
Tezcuco, that he might see whether the peril was, in fact, as great as it had 
been represented. The last lake soon swelled rapidly, and the foolish direc- 
tions to the engineer Martinez were countermanded. 

The latter now began his operations anew, and continued them till June 
20, 1629. Heavy rains fell, and suddenly the capital became inundated to 
the height of a metre (3J feet). Martinez was committed to prison. Con- 
trary to every expectation, Mexico remained flooded for five years, from 
1629 to 16341 During this interval four different projects were presented 
and discussed by the Marquis de Ceralvo, the viceroy. The misery of the 
lower classes was singularly increased while the inundation lasted. Trade 
was at a stand, many houses tumbled down, and others were rendered un- 
inhabitable. The waters, however, in 1634, receded, the ground in the 
valley having opened on account of violent and very frequent earthquakes. 

The viceroy now set the engineer Martinez at liberty. He was ordered 
to finish the desague, by enlarging the original tunnel. The Government 
levied particular imposts on the consumption of commodities for the expense 
of these hydraulic operations. 

In 1637 the Viceroy Villena put the entire work in charge of Father 
Luis Flores, of the Order of St. Francis. It was decided to abandon the 
tunnel {socabon), to remove the top of the vault, and to make an immense 
cut through the mountain, of which the old subterranean passage was to be 
merely the water-course. 

The monks of St. Francis continued to retain direction of this work 
for about forty years, when Martin del Soils, a lawyer, obtained from the 
court of Madrid the administration of the desague. He proved to be in- 



258 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

competent to manage such a gigantic engineering scheme, and the passage 
was stopped up. The canal had been opened and walled in a few years, 
but it required two centuries to complete the cut in a loose earth, in sec- 
tions of from 262 to 328 feet in breadth, and from 131 to 164 feet in per- 
pendicular depth. The work was neglected in years of drought, but renewed 
with extraordinary energy after a season of heavy rains. 

In 1762 there were still at the northern extremity of the tunnel of Mar- 
tinez 6,356 feet which had never been converted into an open trench (iajo 
abierto). At length, in 1767, the Flemish viceroy, the Marquis de Croix, 
undertook to finish the desague. The cut was enlarged, but, in fact, the 
great canal was never entirely completed. Millions had been expended, and 
the Government, hesitating between the Indian system of dikes and the 
modem scheme of a canal and open cut through the hill, never had the 
courage to adhere to the same plan. 

The gallery was allowed to be choked up, because a wider and deeper 
one was required ; and the cut of Nochistongo was not to be finished, while 
the ofiicials were disputing about the project of the canal of 2'ezcuco, which 
was never executed. 

In the beginning of the present century the entire length of the desague 
from south to north was 20,585 metres, or about 12f miles. This is reck- 
oning from the sluice of Vertideros, about 2| miles south of Huehuetoca, to 
£1 Salto del Rio de Tula. 

For further particulars about this great canal, the reader 
is referred to Humboldt's Political Essay on the Kingdom 
of New Spain, Black's translation, vol. ii, pp. 75-112, from 
which the above abstract is taken. Humboldt also discusses 
the scheme of extending the canal from El Salto to Tam- 
pico, on the Gulf of Mexico. For many years this plan, 
although never undertaken, was considered practicable by 
the Mexicans. 

It may be remarked that a canal of such length could 
be used for irrigation in the dry season, as well as for the 
transportation of merchandise by small craft. Of course a 
great many locks would be necessary, as the diiference of 
level between Huehuetoca and Tampico is 7,400 feet. The 
tourist can obtain a hasty view of this great hydraulic work 
from the car-window, as the track is now laid through the 
cut {tajo) of Nochistongo. But, to examine the desague 



THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 259 

properly, a stop should be made at Hueliuetoca or El Scdto, 
where a horse can be procured for the short Journey. The 
traveler can leave Mexico in the morning by either road 
{i. e., the Mexican Central or the Mexican National), in- 
spect the ancient canal, and return in the afternoon train. 

Leaving Hueliuetoca, we pass Kilometer (53 kilometres), 
and the next station is El Salto (63 kilometres). Here the 
Mexican National Eailway crosses the Mexican Central 
again.* (Elevation of El Salto, 7,131 feet.) Between Hue- 
liuetoca and El Salto the road runs northwest, but from 
the latter station to San Antonio the general course of the 
track is westerly. 

The snow-clad volcanoes are no longer visible after leav- 
ing Tula (80 kilometres) {Hotel Diligencias). This town 
was once the great Toltec capital. Euins are found on the 
Hill of Treasure (see p. 48). From this station, having an 
elevation of 6,658 feet, the up-grade becomes quite percep- 
tible for a few miles. Much wheat and maize grow along 
the line, especially in the river-bottoms. 

We now stop at San Antonio (93 kilometres ; elevation, 
7,316 feet). Trees of nopal, piru, and liuisaclii are abun- 
dant in places where the land has not been cultivated. 
The general direction of the route is now west-northwest. 
The country is rolling, and good for stock-raising. Pass- 
ing the stations of Angeles (113 kilometres). Marques (133 
kilometres), Nopala (130 kilometres), Danu (138 kilome- 
tres), Polotitlan (151 kilometres), and Cazaclero (161 kilome- 
tres), the train describes a long curve, and reaches San 
Juan del Rio (191 kilometres). The highest point of the 
railroad is just east of Marques station. Here the altitude 
is 8,134 feet, or 787 feet above the capital. Thence the 
grade is downward toward Polotitlan — elevation, 7,534 feet, 
and San Juan del Rio — 6,300 feet. 

* El Salto is 6729 kilometres from Mexico, via the Mexican National 
Railway. 



260 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

This latter town is situated in a broad and very fertile 
plain, where cereals are cultivated. Some of the best agri- 
cultural land in the Eepublic lies between here and Leon. 
The population of San Juan del Rio is about 12,000, and 
the streets are wide and well paved. It was formerly one 
of the largest woolen manufacturing cities in the country. 
The train stops thirty minutes at this place for breakfast. 
The restaurant is very well kept, and the eastward and 
westward passenger-trains usually meet here. 

Aliorcado (216 kilometres) is the next station ; elevation, 
6,258 feet. The track now runs slightly downward over a 
productive region, passing the immense cotton-mills at Her- 
cules, and reaches Queretaro (246 kilometres). 

QUERETAEO. 

Population, 38,000 in 1882; elevation, 6,368 feet, according to Hum- 
boldt, and 5,904 feet, according to the railroad-engineers. 

Hotels. — Diliffencias, Del Ferrocarril Central, Del Aguila Roja, Ruiz, 
and Hidalgo. 

Baths, in the Calle de Locuiorios. 

Post-Office, in the same street. 

Queretaro is the capital of the State of the same name, 
and was founded by the Aztecs about the middle of the 
fifteenth century. It was conquered by the Spaniards, 
under Fernando de Tapia, a lieutenant of Cortes, in 1531. 
The city contains many fine edifices, several public squares, 
and numerous paved streets. It has a temperate climate, 
and fruits, flowers, and the cereals grow abundantly in the 
environs. The water-supply comes from a neighboring 
mountain, by means of a stone aqueduct, some of the 
arches of which are ninety feet high. The cost of this 
structure was $124,000, the greater part of which was paid 
by the Marquis de Villar del Aguila, to whom the citizens 
have erected a statue on one of the plazas. 

Places of Interest. — 1. The Churches of San Francisco, or the Ca- 
thedral ; San Antonio, San Agustin, Santo Domingo, Santa Clara, El Car' 



THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 261 

tneM, de la Cncz, and Santa Rosa. Santa Clara is the finest of all, and 
contains exquisite gilt wooden carvings. A convent adjoins it. 2. The 
Hercules cotton-mill. 3. El Cerro de las Campanas. 4. The Alameda, 
with beautiful groves of ash-trees. 

No traveler should leave the country without visiting 
the famous Hercules mill. The railroad-track runs close 
to it, and the distance by carriage from Queretaro is about 
two miles. The factory was begun in 1840 by Sefior Rubio. 
The cost of building it, together with the ground, was 
$4,000,000. It is a sort of citadel. Inclosed by a high wall, 
provided with port-holes, occupying several acres, and giv- 
ing employment to 1,400 operatives, it forms a manufactur- 
ing town of itself. 

The Ruiio family live here, and their apartments ad- 
join a beautiful garden, laid out with artificial ponds and 
statues. The buildings are of stone, and the machinery 
has been imported principally from England. Both steam 
and water power are used in the factory, and it has one of 
the largest overshot wheels in the world, being fifty feet 
in diameter. The operatives are all Mexicans. There are, 
however, half a dozen Europeans employed as foremen and 
superintendents. The force of hands is kept working both 
day and night, and an immense number of yards of un- 
bleached cotton, called manta, is manufactured annually. 
Sefiores Ruhio have a small ''army" of thirty-eight sol- 
diers, who are provided with muskets and howitzers. Thus 
far the owners have defended their property successfully 
against the insurgents during several revolutions. The 
proprietors say that there has been but one strike among 
the operatives during the last twenty-five years. 

Don Co.yetano Rubio is the present manager of the es- 
tablishment. He went to Manchester, England, when a 
lad, and learned the trade of cotton-spinning. He is very 
polite to strangers, and sends a clerk to accompany them 
through the factory. The Hercules mill suggests much 



262. CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

material for study to foreigners who are reckoning on the 
future of manufactures in Mexico. 

The Cerro de las Campanas is the hill on the north side 
of which the unfortunate Maximilian was shot. During 
the empire, earthworks were built on this eminence, which 
rises about one hundred feet aboye the plain. The Liberal 
army, under G-eneral Escobedo, besieged Queretaro while 
Maximilian was in command. Through the treachery of 
Colonel Miguel Lopez, the Emperor was taken prisoner, 
and his forces subsequently surrendered to the Liberals. 
Maximilian was tried before a court-martial, and sentenced 
to be shot. Persistent efforts were made to save his life. 
The Princess Salm-Salm is said to have ridden to San 
Luis Potosi, the seat of the Eepublican Government, 160 
miles distant, and begged President Juarez to pardon 
the adventurer from Miramar. The Government of the 
United States was appealed to in vain. None of the 
European potentates ventured to intercede, and Maximil- 
ian, together with his comrades in arms. Generals Miramon 
and Mejia, was shot on June 19, 1867. His body was sub- 
sequently taken to Vienna for interment. 

The night before the Emperor's execution, he wrote the 
following letter to his wife, who was then a maniac, confined 
in one of the palaces of her father, the King of the Belgians : 

" To MT BELOVED CHARLOTTE : If God cver permits you to recover and 
read these lines, you will learn the cruelty of the fate which has not ceased 
to pursue me since your departure for Europe. You carried with you my 
soul and my happiness. Why did I not listen to you ? So many events, 
alas ! so many unexpected and unmerited catastrophes, have overwhelmed 
me, that I have no more hope in my heart, and I await death as a dehvering 
angel. I die without agony. I shall fall with glory, like a soldier, like a 
conquered king. If you have not the power to bear so much suffering, if 
God soon reunites us, I shall bless the divine and paternal hand which has 
so rudely stricken us. Adieu ! Adieu ! Thy poor Max." 

A diligence runs three times a week from Queretaro to 
San Luis Potosi, the distance being 160 miles, and the fare 



THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 263 

is $10. The road is rough, and two days are required for 
the trip. The route passes through two towns named after 
heroes of the War of Independence — 8an Miguel de Allende, 
a well-built city of about 20,000 inhabitants, and Dolores 
Hidalgo. The latter was the parish of the illustrious joa^re, 
Hidalgo, and it was here that he sounded the key-note for 
the Independence of Mexico, while addressing the populace 
on the 16th of September, 1810. 

2. From Queretaro to Guanajuato, 160 kilometres, or 100 miles. 

Leaving Queretaro, the road traverses a rich agricultural 
plain bounded by hills of moderate extent. The track runs 
nearly due west to Calera (364 kilometres), elevation, 5,904 
feet, and the grade is now slightly downward. Passing the 
station of Apaseo (278 kilometres), we reach Celaya (292 
kilometres), where the elevation is 5,800 feet. At the latter 
point the main line of the Mexican National Eailway crosses 
the track. (For a description of this route, see Section IV, 
pp. 237-252.) 

Celaya {Hotel Cortazar) lies in a broad plain. The 
population is about 15,000. The town is noted for its 
churches. Those of San Francisco and El Carmen are 
worthy of a visit. Several woolen-factories are found here. 
There are also factories of cotton thread at the town of Sal- 
vatierra, 20 miles distant. 

Celaya is destined, when the American trunk-lines are 
completed, to become a place of some importance. 

Leaving this station, the road continues in a westerly 
direction with a gradual descent to Guaje (311 kilometres), 
and thence to Salamanca (333 kilometres). The latter 
place has an altitude of 5,680 feet, and a population of 
13,000. It is celebrated for the manufacture of leathern 
clothing and gloves. Boys bring the latter into the cars 
for sale. There are also rich deposits of kaolin and white 
clay here. The best hotel is the Cortazar. At Salamanca 



264 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

the line takes a northwesterly direction, and, passing the 
station of Chico (344 kilometres), reaches Irapuato (353 
kilometres). A diligence connects at the latter town with 
La Piedad and Barca, and thence to Lake Ghapala. The 
population of Irapuato is about 12,000. 

The track now ascends in approaching Villalobos (370 
kilometres), and the next station is Silao (383 kilometres). 

SILAO. 

Population, about 10,000 ; elevation, 5,910 feet. 

Hotel. — Hidalgo. Also an excellent restaurant kept by a Frenchman 
opposite the station. 

The town lies in a district where two crops of wheat and 
maize are grown annually. Irrigation is necessary, how- 
ever, and the water is commonly raised from the ditches 
by a rude bucket-wheel worked by man-power. 

The wheat-harvest is thirty-five and forty for one, and 
sometimes even as high as fifty or sixty to one. In the 
farms that are properly irrigated, the wheat is twice watered : 
first, when the young plant springs up in the month of 
January ; and, secondly, in the beginning of March, when 
the ear is on the point of developing itself. Sometimes 
even the entire field is inundated before sowing. This 
method resembles the mode of cultivation of the cereals in 
lower Egypt. ( Vide p. 95.) 

A branch road leads to Guanajuato, 23 kilometres dis- 
tant. This town is situated in the low range of mount- 
ains that forms the northern boundary of the plain. The 
intervening region has an undulating surface, and very 
little vegetation except the nopal. The branch track runs 
northeasterly, and the upward grade is heavy. It was 
finished in November, 1882. The line is built as far as 
Marfil (18 kilometres). At this station, both stage-coaches 
and horse-cars connect with Guanajuato, 5 kilometres dis- 
tant. The fare in the former is 25 cents for each passenger 



THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 265 

with ordinary baggage, and in the tramway 15 cents, first 
class, and 7 cents, second class. The railway company in- 
tends to extend its track to Guanajuato in a few months. 

GUANAJUATO. 

Population, 56,112; elevation, 6,836 feet, according to Humboldt. 
Hotels. — Del Suizo, Bay as, and Diligencias. 
Restaurants. — De Bordeaux, Frances. 

Guanajuato is the capital of the State of the same name, 
and lies in latitude 31° north, and longitude 1° 49' west of 
the City of Mexico. 

The city was founded by the Spaniards in 1554. It re- 
ceived the royal privilege of villa (town) in 1619, and that 
of ciudacl (city) on the 8th of December, 1741. 

Places of Interest. — 1. The Church of La Parroquia. 2. The Mint. 
3. The Prison {El Carcel). 4. The Silver- mills {haciendas de beneficios). 
5. The Silver-mines. 6. Cerro (hill) de San Miguel. '7. The Paseo. 

In 1803 Humboldt states that the population witJiin 
the city was 41,000, and in the adjacent mines of Marjil, 
Santa Ana, Santa Rosa, Valenciana, Ray as, and Mellado, it 
was 29,600, making a total of 70,600, of whom there were 
4,500 Indians. The same writer, in his Political Essay on 
New Spain, vol. iii, p. 138, ranks Guanajuato first in a 
list of the richest mining districts of Mexico. He remarks 
also that the vein of Guanajuato, from the end of the 
sixteenth century to the year 1800, -produced fourteeji hun- 
dred million (1,400,000,000) francs worth of silver, besides 
some gold. (See chapter on mines, in Part First.) This 
vein is familiarly called the Veta Madre, and the mines on it 
began to be worked in 1558. 

For several years past these mines have not paid well, 
and it is believed by many persons that their mineral wealth 
has been exhausted. This impression, however, is not 
well founded, as the mines have in only two instances 
{Rayas and Valenciana) been explored to a depth of 1,500 



266 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

feet. It is highly probable that rich bodies of ore will be 
met with by sinking the shafts deeper. 

There are several families of great wealth in Guana- 
juato, whose fortunes have been acquired in silver-mining. 
Humboldt states that the Count de Valenciana dug three 
pits in one mine at an expense of 11,700,000. The pro- 
prietors of these mines are unwilling to sell them except 
at a large profit, as this class of real estate is regarded as a 
good investment. 

At present but two English companies own mineral 
property in this region. One of them has an agency for 
the examination and purchase of Mexican mines. Thus 
far the Americans have not bought mines in this vicinity. 
Their mineral lands are mostly in the northern States of 
the Eepublic. 

The traveler will have no better chance of visiting a 
mine than in Guanajuato. Accordingly, he is advised to 
descend one of the many pits in the suburbs. The Rayas * 
and Nopal mines are both dry and well arranged. A car- 
riage may be driven to the latter, and within a short walk 
of the former. Strangers are treated with great civility, 
and no card of admission is necessary. 

The tourist will have an opportunity of seeing the cele- 
brated peons at work, with their primitive tools and meth- 
ods of mining. But he will be obliged to descend and 
ascend the massive stone steps to reach the vein, as no 
*' elevators " have thus far come into use. A fee of twenty- 
five cents will be sufficient to give the boy who accompanies 
the traveler through the mine. (See p. 81.) 

There are fifty mills for crushing and reducing silver- 
ores in Guanajuato . All of them are worked by horse- 
power, except the Pardo mill, which is operated by steam. 
This mill has six stamps and twenty-two arrastras. The 

* The Rayas mine has three shafts, the deepest of which is 1,640 feet. 
In April, 1883, two thousand peons were employed. 



THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 267 

ore is brought in sacks from tlie neighboring mines by pack- 
mules, and it is worked by the cold amalgamation or patio 
process, which was invented in 1557 by Bartolome, Medina, 
a Mexican miner. A description of it may be of interest : 

The ore is first put in the mill (molino), which is a circular depression 
in the ground, and crushed by a revolving stone wheel covered with a thick 
cast-iron tire, and having a horizontal axis. The wheel is moved by two 
mules attached to a long shaft. There is a coarse iron sieve in the center 
of the mill, at the base of the vertical post in which the axle of the wheel 
is fastened. As the ore is crushed, a peon shovels it against the sieve, and 
the smaller pieces pass through an opening in the ground surrounding the 
post, and are collected in a vault below. The small particles of ore are 
now carried in litters to the arrastras, which are flat stones of porphyry, or 
some other hard rock, about three feet long, which revolve in a large tub. 

The tub is half full of water, and the arrastras grind the fragments 
of silver-ore into a fine powder in about twenty-four hours. Mules are used 
to give a rotary motion to the arrastras, each animal working six hours. 
The machinery is run day and night. The next step is the conveyance of 
the pulverized ore, called lama, in a trough (hatea) to the patio or court-yard. 
The patio is paved with large flat stones, and the soft lama is allowed to 
accumulate to a depth of about two feet. This muddy mass is then mixed 
with magistral* or blue vitriol, salt, and quicksilver, by scattering these sub- 
stances with the hand, and employing mules to walk about in the torta, as it 
is now termed. A laborer rolls up his breeches and stands in the torta, 
holding the reins of three mules harnessed together, and drives the animals 
around him, changing his position every few minutes, in order to impreg- 
nate the powdered ore thoroughly with the several chemicals. 

The mules tramp through the torta for seven hours daily, and the time 
required to mix the mass properly varies from two to four weeks, accord- 
ing to the quality of the ore. 

The torta is then carried in litters to the lavaderos, or largo cisterns, 
where it is washed and stirred by means of revolving sticks. The silvery 
mass being heavy, of course, settles at the bottom, and in two or three 
days the muddy water is drawn off. The amalgam, or pella, which has 
been formed, is now taken from the lavaderos to a sort of oven or depres- 
sion in the ground, covered with a huge metallic hood termed a capellina. 
A fire is built around the capellina, and the mercury is separated by distil- 
lation in about four days. The block of silver which remains is transported 
to the nearest mint, and worked into coin or sold. The law of Mexico com- 

* Native sulphide of iron and copper. 



268 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

pels the owners of haciendas de beneficios to send their silver to the mint. 
If the owner wishes to export the bullion, he must first obtain a certificate 
from the director of the establishment. 

N. B. — A picture of i\iQ patio process may be found on p. 198. 

The peons are searched, when leaving the silver-works, 
at the end of the day's work, as fragments of the precious 
metal are often concealed in their hair and clothing. (See 
p. 81.) 

The prison, or carcel, is worthy of a visit. It occupies 
an eminence in the heart of the city, near the causeway 
{calzadd), and was formerly a castle. It was also the last 
stronghold of the Spaniards in Guanajuato during the great 
revolution. The castle was defended with fire-arms, while 
the Mexicans had merely primitive weapons, such as clubs, 
knives, missiles, etc. Finding the fortress impregnable, 
the latter approached the gate on all-fours, with flat stones 
on their backs to serve as armor, and set fire to it. The 
Spanish oppressors surrendered, and the natives decapitated 
four of the leaders, and hung their heads in the corners of 
the court-yard of the castle. 

The prison is a two-storied building, about 150 feet long 
and 75 feet wide. The inmates work at various trades. 

The traveler should ascend the Cerro de San Miguel, 
which lies south of the mint, and about twenty minutes' 
walk from the plaza, to obtain a correct idea of the location 
of Guanajuato. It will be seen that the city is built in 
a gorge, surrounded by rolling hills. The narrow streets 
are winding, and they have a cobble-stone pavement. The 
tourist is reminded of the towns in the Swiss Alps. Look- 
ing across the city, the observer has a fine view of the prin- 
cipal suburbs, the mines being chiefly on the northern and 
western sides of Guanajuato. 

There are some foreigners living in the city. They are 
mostly French, although a few Germans, Spaniards, Eng- 
lishmen, and Americans can be included in the number. 



THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAIL WA Y. 269 

The inhabitants are disposed to introduce modern inven- 
tions, such as the electric light and telephone. A New York 
company has erected seventy-five telephones, many of which 
connect the mines with the houses and offices of the owners. 

The greater part of the population of Guanajuato con- 
sists of miners, who are an industrious and well-to-do class 
of people. On Sundays they dress up in their best clothes, 
and walk on iY^e plaza and paseo with their families. 

The tourist can spend a week in Guanajuato to advan- 
tage, during which an excursion may be made to Dolores 
Hidalgo, about 35 miles northeast of the city. (See p. 263. ) 

3. From Guanajuato to Lagos, 115 kilometres, or 72 miles. 

Leaving Guanajuato, the stage-coach sets out from the 
door of the hotel, and connects with the train at Marfil, 5 
kilometres distant. The track has a downward grade nearly 
all the way to Silao, 18 kilometres farther. The railroad 
company has erected a large wooden station and freight- 
house at the latter point. This branch road carries large 
quantities of quicksilver, salt, and magistral to Marjil for 
the silver-reducing works. (See p. 267.) 

From Silao the road continues in a northwest course 
through the fertile plain, passing the station of Trinidad 
(402 kilometres), and reaches Leon (416 kilometres). The 
grade ascends slightly to a point just west of Trinidad, 
having an altitude of 5,963 feet, and then descends toward 
Leon. 

LEON". 

Population, about 80,000 ; elevation, 5,S62 feet. 

Hotels. — Comercio, de la Luz, Colon. 

Tramways run to the city, l\ mile north of the station ; fare, 10 cents 
for each passenger. The towers of the cathedral and several domes of the 
churches are visible from the train. 

Leon is noted for its manufactories of saddles and 
leathern goods, and a quarry of building-stone is found near 



270 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

the town. It is said to have had 166,000 inhabitants in 
1865. The residents claim that their city is second to the 
national capital in population. It is, however, greatly in- 
ferior to Guadalajara and Puebla in mercantile importance 
and in objects of interest. There is very little wealth in 
Leon. The city lies near the terminus of the rich cereal 
belt of the table-land, which is about 80 miles long, and 
from 21 to 26 miles wide, according to Humboldt. 

From Leon the railroad goes northwesterly, with an 
ascending grade toward Lagos. Passing the stations of 
Rincon (431 kilometres), Pedrito (448 kilometres), and 
Loma (462 kilometres), the train arrives at Lagos (475 kilo- 
metres). This city is 13^ hours' journey from the capi- 
tal. On October 15, 1883, trains were running to Encar- 
nacion, 41 miles beyond Lagos. 

LAGOS. 

Population, 10,000; elevation, 6,153 feet. 

Hotel. — Diligendas. 

Stage-coaches leave Lagos as follows : For Cruadalajara, 2 days dis- 
tant ; fare, $14. For Zacatecas, 2 days distant ; fare, $10. For San Luis 
Pofosi, 2 days distant ; fare, $10. A special diligence for San Luis Potosi 
in 16 hours ; fare, $12.50. 

4. From Lagos to Guadalajara and San Blas. 
Guadalajara lies about 130 miles west-southwest of 
Lagos. The road is a rough one, and two days are required 
for the trip. The Mexican Central Eailway Company will 
extend its line over this route to Guadalajara, and thence 
to San Bias. (See p. 272.) 

GIJADALAJAEA. 

Population, iSfiW in 1879; elevation, 5,052 feet. 

Hotels. — Nacional, Hidalgo, Diligendas, and Nuevo Mundo. 

The city is situated in latitude 20° 41' north, and on 
the west bank of the Rio de Santiago (the largest river in 



TEE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 



271 



Mexico except the Rio Grande). It is the capital of the 
State of Jalisco. The houses are well built, and the streets 
are wide and laid out at right angles. Some travelers con- 
sider Guadalajara to be the finest city in the Eepublic. 
Lying far in the interior, and remote from the railway, it 
has not been affected by foreign influence. 

Places of Interest. — 1. The Cathedral and Sagrario. 2. The Gov- 
eratnent Palace. 3. The Bishop's Palace. 4. The Mint. 5. The City Hall. 
6. The Academy of Fine Arts. 1. The Plaza de Armas. 8, The Alameda. 




Plaza de Atvnas, Guadalajara. 



The first three buildings are situated on the Plaza de 
Armas. The Cathedral was completed in 1618, and is one 
of the oldest in Mexico. The cupolas of both towers were 
destroyed by the great earthquake of May 31, 1818. 

The city can boast of fourteen public squares, a univer- 
sity, and an academy of fine arts — the only one in the Re- 
public except that of San Carlos at the capital. Much 
glazed pottery is made here ; it is quite ornamental, and 
13 



272 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

may be found in the shops at tlie City of Mexico. There are 
several woolen and cotton manufactories in Ouadalqjara. 

Opinions are divided as to whether this city or Puebla 
should rank next to Mexico in wealth and commercial im- 
portance. 

Guadalajara lies in a fertile region. The cereals, fruits, 
and vegetables grow in abundance. Some farms are said to 
yield as much as forty bushels of Indian corn to the acre. 

The following table of distances will be found useful : 

From Guadalajara to the City of Mexico via Lagos 424 miles. 

" " Tepic ...258 " 

" " San Bias 300 " 

" " Colima 142 " 

" " Manzanillo.. 211 " 

" " Morelia 191 " 

" " Aguascalientes 149 " 

An excursion may be made to the Lake of Cliapala, 
about 40 miles distant. This lake is the largest in Mexico, 
having an area of 415 square miles. (Seep. 30.) There 
are several islands in it, on one of which ruins have been 
found. A small American steamboat makes a tour round 
the lake daily. The depth of Lake Chapala has not yet 
been ascertained. 

Diligences run from Guadalajara to San Bias, 300 miles 
distant, via the villages of Amatitan, Tequila, Ixtlan, Te- 
titan, Zapotlan, and Tepic. The latter place is a manu- 
facturing town of 20,000 inhabitants. It is noted for pro- 
ducing a fine quality of cigars. The elevation of Tepic is 
8,050 feet. The Mexican Central Eailway Company will 
build a branch line from Guadalajara toward San Bias, 
which will run parallel to the stage route, or nearly so. 
It is expected that this branch will be finished in 1886. 

San Bias has a population of 3,500. The Pacific Mail 
steamers touch at this port once a month. The distance 
to San Francisco is 1,519 miles, and the fare is $85. 



THE MEXICAN CENTS AL RAILWAY. 



273 



The climate of 
San Bias is hot 
and very unhealthy. 
There are dense for- 
ests of tropical fruit- 
trees and plants in 
the vicinity. 



5. From Lagos to Zaca- 
TECAS; distance, 141 
miles by railroad. 

Leaving Lagos, 
the track runs near- 
ly due northward. 
The road leads over 
a fertile plain, where 
the cereals are raised. 
Soon the country be- 
comes rolling, and 

cultivation decreases in going toward Aguascalientes. There 
is a very sparse population in this region. Passing several 
hamlets, the train enters the city of Aguascalientes, 71 
miles from Lagos. (See p. 270.) 




Making Tequila. 



AGUASCALIENTES. 

Population, 35,000; elevation, 6,261 feet, according to Burkart. 

Hotels. — Diligencias and Nacional. 

Baths on the Alameda, which is reached by horse-cars ; hot baths at 
20 and 25 cents. 

Places of Interest. — The Cathedral, Plaza de Armas, and the Pasco. 
The latter is one of the finest parks in the country. The main line of the 
Mexican Central Railway was completed to the city during the current year, 
and the branch from Tampico to San Luis Potosi will probably be extended 
to this point. ( Vide p. 238.) 

Leaving Aguascalientes, the railroad traverses a flat 
country that is barren for the most part. The stations 



2Y4 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

are : Rincon de Roma (24 miles), Soledad (37 miles), Gua- 
dalupe (69 miles), and Zacoiecas (71 miles). The last- 
named station is 435 miles, or 701| kilometres, from the 
City of Mexico. 

Some interesting ruins of Indian architecture are found 
at Quemada, about 30 miles southwest of Zacatecas, and 
2|- miles north of the village of La Quemada, at an eleva- 
tion of 7,406 feet above the sea-level. 

The remains are situated on a rocky eminence that 
rises abruptly from the plain. It is called "El Cerro de 
los Edificios." The summit is reached by a causeway. An 
area of six acres has been inclosed by a broad wall, forming 
a sort of citadel. This barrier surrounds a quadrangle 240 
X 200 feet, which to the east is sheltered by a strong wall 
of unhewn stones, eight feet in thickness and eighteen in 
height. A raised terrace of twenty feet in width passes 
round the northern and eastern sides of this space, and on 
its southeast corner is yet standing a round pillar of rough 
stones of the same height as the wall, and nineteen feet in 
circumference. 

There are vestiges of five other pillars on the eastern, 
and four on the northern terrace. There is another quad- 
rangle surrounded by perfect walls of the same height and 
thickness as the former one, and measuring 134 x 137 feet. 
This space contains fourteen columns of equal dimensions 
with that of the adjacent inclosure. They were made of 
clay mixed with straw. 

There is a flat-topped jDyramid of hewn stown in one of 
the quadrangles. Two small pyramids may also be seen. 
One chamber has an irregular structure 7x5 feet near the 
center. It was probably an altar, and the room may have 
been used as the Hall of Sacrifice or Assembly. These 
ruins are probably the work of the Aztecs. 

At Ouadalupe, 4 miles from Zacatecas, the land rises 
rapidly. The former town is seen in the distance several 



TEE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 275 




miles before it is readied. It contains many furnaces and 
silver-mills, in which the ores from Zacatecas are worked. 
On account of the presence of sulphur, the ores are gener- 



276 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

ally roasted before being treated in the crushing and re- 
ducing-mills. 

The stage-coach enters a canon at Guadalupe, and, 
traveling up a heavy grade, the old mining settlement of 
Zacatecas is reached. The latter place is 71 miles from 
Aguascalientes, and the time required to make the dis- 
tance is 3^ hours. 

ZACATECAS. 

Population, 46,000, including Ouadalupe ; elevation, 9,012 feet,* accord- 
ing to Burkart. 

Hotels. — Zacaiccdno, Del Comercio, Nacional, and Del Progreso. 
Baths, in the Plaza de Armas. 
Post-Office in the Calle de la Moneda. 
Horse-Cars to Guadalupe (see time-table). 

Zacatecas is one of the oldest mining towns in Mexico. 
It received the title of city in 1585 from Philip 11. The 
streets are well paved and somewhat tortuous, although 
not as much so as in Ouanajuato. The city is not behind 
the age, even if lately (1884) reached by the Central Eail- 
way, and a considerable distance from any seaport. The 
electric light shines on the plaza, and a number of tele- 
phones are in use. Zacatecas lies in an' arid and mountain- 
ous region, with an inclement climate. 

Places OF Interest. — 1. The Cathedral ; observe carvings on the fa9ade. 
2. The Palace. 3. The Mint. 4^ The Bufa, a hill north of the city. 5. 
The silver-mines. 

There are fourteen churches of minor importance and a 
Protestant chapel. Some of them are ornamented with ar- 
tistic gilt wooden carvings and old paintings, that were 
transported to the city at enormous expense. 

The tourist should ascend the Bufa, about 500 feet 
above t\iQ plaza, for a view of the city and its environs. 

There is a small chapel on the summit, known as the 

* This is too high an estimate ; 8,000 feet would be more correct. 



THE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 277 

Capilla de la Biifa. It is worthy of remark that several 
kinds of igneous rocks occur near each other on this moun- 
tain. The observer will see that the city is built in a valley, 
surrounded by rolling hills, which contain numerous mines. 
He stands on top of a ridge that rises from the great table- 
land. To the westward lies the spur of the Sierra Madre, 
which extends nearly to the Pacific coast. There are many 
low ridges running north and south, that are situated on 
the eastern and northern sides of the Zacatecas range. The 
country is very barren, scarcely a particle of vegetation 
being visible. The broad plain below has an elevation of 
about 7,000 feet, and there are nine small lakes of salt and 
carbonate of soda in this plain, a few miles from Zacatecas. 
This salt is transported to Guadalupe for use in the silver- 
mills. The geological formation of this district has been 
compared by Humboldt to that of Switzerland. 

The mines next demand attention. In mineral wealth 
Zacatecas is the richest State in Mexico. The district, 
however, which includes the city, does not rank first. In 
1804 Humboldt placed Zacatecas third in a list of the 
principal mining towns. 

Guanajuato ranks first and Catorce second in the pro- 
duction of the precious metals. The Veta Grande, or great 
vein, is next in magnitude to the Veta Madre of Guana- 
juato. Its average width is about 25 feet, and in a few 
places it has a breadth of 75 feet, although the entire mass 
is not metalliferous. The mines of Zacatecas began to 
be worked in 1548. Up to the year 1732 they are said 
to have produced the enormous sum of $832,232,880, on 
which a tax of $46,523,000 was paid to the Spanish treas- 
ury. 

About 1728 the mines of Zacatecas yielded $1,800,000 
annually, which was then estimated as one fifth of all the 
silver coined in Mexico. 

During the War of Independence, the amount of pre- 



278 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

cious metal extracted greatly diminished ; and at the pres- 
ent time (1885) these mines are not doing well. It remains 
to be seen whether their wealth is exhausted, or whether 
new bodies of ore will yet be found in paying quantities. 

There are a dozen mines within a half-hour's walk of 
the principal hotels, and which can readily be visited. It 
is best to go in the morning. A series of ladders is used 
in most of them, instead of the massive stone steps as in 
Guanajuato. The largest mine is the San Rafael, and the 
oldest one bears the name of the famous Cortes. The latter 
is about two miles north of the city. An English company 
owns the Clerigos mine. Two other mines in the vicinity 
are also owned by Englishmen. There is one American 
company in Zacatecas, called the Chicago and Mexican Syn- 
dicate, that controls several mines in this district. 

Stage-coaches run from Zacatecas as follows : 

To San Luis Potosi, distance 156 miles; fare, $12.00. 
" Jerez, " 40 " " . 1.50. 

" Villa Nueva, " 65 " " 1.25. 

" Burango, " 234 " " 14.00. 

A well-known Mexican, named Sada, has run a line of 
ambulances, called "the money-train," from Zacatecas to 
Monterey for many years. Before the Mexican National 
Eailway was built, Sada drove his wagons as far as the fron- 
tier, at Laredo. The time required to reach Monterey is 
six days and a half, and the fare is 140, including board 
and lodging on the journey. A dozen mounted guards ac- 
company the train. Bullion and silver coin are carried 
chiefly, although packages and personal baggage will also 
be forwarded. The route to Monterey traverses an arid 
and barren region, having a gently undulating surface, and 
very little vegetation, except the various species of cactus. 
The road goes via the hacienda de Cedres and Saltillo. 

This hacienda is the only redeeming feature of the trip, 
and it is one of the largest in Northern Mexico. There arc 



TEE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 279 

some silver-mines on it, as well as many horses, cattle, and 
sheep. The train of ambulances starts about daybreak, and 
travels till noon ; then a long rest is taken, after which the 
wagons continue the Journey till sundown. Many extra 
mules follow the train, and, when one of the animals grows 
tired, a change is at once made.* 

Zacatecas is nearly the southernmost town in which Americans liave in- 
vested capital in mines. They have, however, lately purchased mineral 
property at Sombrerete and at Durango. 

The city of Durango is three days' journey by diligence from Zacatecas. 
The population of the city is 35,OuO, and, according to Humboldt, the alti- 
tude is 6,G47 feet. It is situated in the plain of San Ajitonio, about 30 
miles east of the Sierra Madrc. Durango is the capital of the State of 
the same name, and lies in latitude 24° 2' north. 

Near the city of Durango is the famous iron mountain, El Cerro del 
Mercado. This hill is one mile long, one third of a mile wide, and from 
400 to 600 feet in height. It is composed of two varieties of iron-ores, 
magnetite and hematite (see p. 'ZS), and is perhaps the largest and richest 
deposit of iron in the world. 

In 1881 a corporation known as the Iron Mountain Company was or- 
ganized under the laws of the State of New York, with a capital stock of 
$10,000,0 10, to work the ores of the Cerro del Mercado. This company 
expects to make Durango the seat of the largest iron-manufacturing 
industry in North America. A blast-furnace is in course of erection near 
the mountain, and fuel, fire-clay, and limestone are abundant in the vicinity. 

Referring to the future development of the Cerro del Mercado, Ward 
stated, in 1827, that there is no article in Mexico for which the demand is 
greater than for iron, and none whose supply from Europe is attended with 
so many disadvantages. The same writer predicts that "the advantages 
for manufacturing iron will be duly apparent when Durango becomes, as it 
will in a few years, the field of work ... of some great foreign or native 
company of capitalists, by whose labors the resources of the country will 
fii-st be fully developed." Ward also prophesied that, if a foreign company 
should start in Durango, it would receive the warmest support, and that 
city might be rendered the depot of iron for Sombrerete, Zacatecas, Catorce, 
Batopilas, and all the districts south of Chihuahua. 

* SeSor Sada intends shifting his line from Zacatecas to Mafamoros, and 
thence to ScdtiUo, to connect with the Mexican National Railway (see p. 288). 



280 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

A railroad is in course of construction from Zacatccas to San Luis Fo- 
tosi. The concession is granted to the Mexican National Railway Company. 
The intervening region is arid and very barren for the most part. A few 
cattle and sheep are raised along the proposed route, and the country is 
gently rolling. Ojo Ccdienie, about 25 miles from Zacatecas, is a town of 
some importance. It has a good hotel, adjoining a fine grove of trees. 

From this place to Las Salinas the country is covered with nopal, tazO' 
hillo, huisaclii, and dagger-plant, interspersed with a little mesquite. 

There are several salt lagoons at Las Salinas, as the name suggests, and 
the owner, Senor Erazos, has built a stately residence, which is surrounded 
by a stone wall and a deep moat. A draw-bridge across the moat is raised 
at night, reminding the traveler of the baronial castles of the middle ages. 

The country between this town and San Luis Fotosi is rolling, and a 
portion of it is adapted to grazing. Some maguey grows along the route. 

(For description of San Luis Foiosi, see pp. 237-240.) 

Route II. 

1. El Paso to Chihuahua. 

2. Chihuahua to Jimenez. 

1. From El Paso to Chihuahua. Distance, 225 miles ; time, 14 hours. 
One passenger-train daily. 

EL PASO, TEXAS. 

Population, 3,000; elevation, 3,600 feet. 
Hotels. — Central, Windsor, and Ficrson House. 

El Paso is a great railway center, and is destined to 
grow rapidly within a brief period. Eeal estate is becoming 
higher in price, and the rents for all classes of buildings are 
said to be enormous. There is a union depot occupied by 
the Southern Pacific and the Missouri Pacific Railways. 
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Eailroad Company has 
also a depot. The last-named line makes connection with 
the Mexican Central Railway, and it is the most desirable 
route from the eastern and central cities of the United 
States to Mexico in the summer season, which will hence- 
forth be the time when most travelers will approach Mexico 
by land. 



TEE MEXICAN' CENTRAL RAILWAY. 



281 



Leaving El Paso, the train crosses a six-pile bent trestle- 
bridge over the Rio Grande* which connects this town 
with Paso del Norte. An iron bridge will soon take the 
place of the trestle-work. There is besides a small-pile 




Chwrch and Plaza, El Paso. 

trestle-bridge, owned and operated by the horse-car com- 
pany, which is also used as a highway for wagons and pe- 
destrians. 

The population of Paso del Norte is about 7,000. 
{Hotel Gallardo.) 

This town is the terminus of the Mexican Central Eail- 

* The width of the Rio Grande varies from 300 to 600 feet in the 
vicinity of El Paso. 



282 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



way, although the company's trains are run across the river 
to El Paso. 

Leaving Paso del Norte, the following stations are passed : 



Distance 
FROM Paso 
Del Noetb. 



Miles. 

30 

96 
139 
164 
181 
192 
210 
224 



Stations. 



Paso Del Norte. 
Samalayuca . . . . 

San Jose 

Ojo Caliente. . , . 

Gallego 

Lagnna 

Micinillas 

Sauz . 

Sacramento. . . . . 
Chihuahua 



Elevations. 



Feet. 
3,600 
4,300 
3,950 
4,090 
5,360 

5,060 
5,168 

4,690 



The country between Paso del Norte and Chihuahua is 
well adapted to grazing. There are several large mining 
districts on either side of the line of the railroad, at dis- 
tances varying from ten to a hundred miles. The mines 
are chiefly of silver, although there is an extensive deposit 
of iron-ore near Ojo Caliente. 

About 100 miles west of Samalayuca lies the old presidio 
or military post of Janos. It is 35 miles north of the ruined 
town of Casas Grandes, which is about half a mile distant 
from the modern town of the same name. 

The remains lie adjacent to a fertile valley about two 
miles in width. 

They are built of adobe, and are called the ^' Casas de 
Montezuma." They face the cardinal points, and consist 
of fallen and erect walls. The latter are from five to thirty 
feet in height. The edifices resemble the Puehlo dwellings 
of Arizona and New Mexico. Fragments of pottery have 
been found in them. The original buildings are supposed 
to have had three stories and a roof, with stairs outside, 
probably of wood. 

Passengers on the Chihuahua division of this road gen- 



& ii:|ilii',ijiillll 



ii|'iiv,:«li:lll||4ii;.rfili,.4rj^ I ' 







284 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



erally trayel either in the first or second class cars, the 
proportion being evenly divided. There is but little third- 
class travel. The freight carried by this company consists 
of lumber, coal, machinery, live-stock, and general mer- 
chandise. Bullion is transported in considerable quanti- 
ties by Wells, Fargo and Company's Express. 




Oasas Grandes, Chihuahua. 



CHIHUAHUA. 

Population, 17,500, of which about 1,500 are foreigners ; elevation, 
4,690 feet. 

Hotels. — American and National. 

Baths, on the upper Alameda. 

Telegraph and Post-Office, on the mainj9?aza. 

Bankers, Messrs F. MacManus & Sons. 

Chihuahua, the capital of the State of the same name, 
lies on a broad plain at the base of the Sierra Madre, in 
north latitude 28° 35' 10". 

The city was settled toward the close of the seventeenth 
century by some adventurers, for the purpose of working 
the rich silver-mines in the vicinity. In 1833 the popu- 
lation was 10,600, and in 1853 it was 12,000. 

Places of Interest. — 1. The Churches of La Parrdquia (or Cathedral), 
Guadalupe, and San Felipe. 2. The College of the Jesuits, in the rear of 



THE MEXICAF CENTRAL RAILWAY. 285 

which the great revolutionary leaders Hidalgo and Allende were beheaded. 
3. The Palace. 4. The Tribunal of Justice. 5. The Mint. 6. The Alhon- 
diga^ or granary. 7. The Aqueduct (6,068 yards long). 

The Cathedral, or parochial church, stands on the plaza. 
It is built of cut stone of a very light color, and has two 
towers and a dome. The exterior is yery imposing. The 
church cost $800,000. It was erected from a fund raised 
by levying a tax of one real on every mark * of silver ob- 
tained from the mines of Santa Eulalia, fifteen miles dis- 
tant. 

Fruit, vegetables, and the cereals grow in the environs 
of the city. There is fine grazing-land in Chihuahua. In 
1871 the American consul reported that there were 800,000 
sheep and 250,000 cattle in the State. 

The climate is salubrious, the temperature ranging from 
16° to 94° Fahr. May, June, and July are the warmest 
months, but the nights are always cool and pleasant during 
this season. The rains begin about the 25th of June, and 
last till the middle of October. 

2. From Chihuahua to Jimenez, 146"3 miles. 

On June 1, 1883, this section of the road was finished, 
and trains began to run about August 1st. 

Leaving Chihuahua, we pass through a grazing coun- 
try for about 50 miles, when the valley of the San Pedro 
Eiver is reached. Maize, wheat, and cotton are grown 
here. Proceeding southward, we enter the valley of the 
Conchos f River, near the station of Santa Rosalia. 

The altitude of Santa Rosalia is 4,022 feet, and the dis- 
tance from Chihuahua 101 miles. This town is famous for 
its sanitary hot springs, being regarded as one of the finest 
health resorts in Mexico. In traveling through the Eepub- 

* Eight dollars. 

f This river flows northerly and empties into the Rio Grande near the 
town of Presidio del Norte. 



286 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



lie the tourist will observe that isolated houses are rare, the 
population being for the most part gathered in communi- 
ties. Fifty miles south of Santa Rosalia we reach the val- 
ley of the Florido River, where the cereals and some cotton 
are cultivated. The rich mining district of Santa Bar- 
bara lies about 50 miles to the southwest. We soon ar- 
rive at Jimenez, a town of about 8,000 inhabitants, which 
is situated near the Rio Florido. 
The stations on this division are : 



Miles from 
Chihuahua. 

Chihuahua O'O 

Mapula 14'4 

Horcasitas 28"3 

Bachimba 39"1 

Ortiz 54-2 

Las Delicias SS'Y 

Saucillo 68-'7 



Miles from 
Chihuahua. 

Concho 78-4 

La Cruz 91-1 

Santa Rosalia lOl'O 

Bustamante 1 10'8 

Florido... 122-7 

La Reforma.. 133-6 

Jimenez 140*3 



From Jimenez a diligence runs daily to Parral, distance 
60 miles ; fare, 15. The mines of Parral are famous, hav- 
ing yielded silver of the value of 160,000,000. These ore- 
deposits, together with those of Batopilas and Jesus Maria, 
are the most important in CMhualiua. 

Route III. 

Jimenez to Zacatecas, 414*5 miles. 

Leaving Jimenez, where the altitude is 4,531 feet, the 
track trends southeasterly as far as Lerdo, 144 '3 miles dis- 
tant. Passing the stations of Dolores and Corralitos, the 
land rises slightly, and then descends to Saez (elevation 
3,900 feet). Here the railroad enters the State of Durango. 
The train continues on a downward grade through the sta- 
tions of Yermo, Conejos, and PerOnal to Mapimi (eleva- 
tion 3,694 feet, and 491*8 miles from Paso del Norte). The 
last-named town lies in the southern part of the Bolson de 
Mapimi, an arid, desolate plateau, with little vegetation 



TEE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 287 

except the ''thorny weeds/' such as the tuna cactus, and 
Spanish bayonet, and the mesquite-tree, whose roots are 
much used for fuel. Patches of grass, on which a few cat- 
tle graze, arc occasionally seen. 

In this entire region, extending on the line of railway 
from Jimenez southeasterly nearly 150 miles, there are, save 
the station Just mentioned, no towns worthy of the name. 
Except in summer, the dust is almost insufferable. Arti- 
ficial tanks, to catch the rains and store water, are common. 

Mines of gold, silver, and lead occur near the station of 
Mapimi. A diligence runs thence to the city of Durango. 
{Vide^. 279.) 

The next station on the line is Noe, after which comes 
Villa Lerdo, or Lerdo, 515 '2 miles from Paso del Norte. 

Lerdo (population 9,000, elevation 3,726 feet) lies in 
the "laguna country," a very fertile region, where much 
cotton, grain, and sugar-cane are grown. It is an empo- 
rium of the cotton-trade. The annual yield of this com- 
modity is said to be 30,000 bales, all of which is consumed 
in the Republic ; and there is reason to believe that the 
production of cotton in the " laguna country " will soon 
be greatly increased. 

The Mexican International Railroad, beginning at Pie- 
dras Negras, on the Rio Grande, will connect with the 
Mexican Central at or near Lerdo. ( Vide p. 323.) At pres- 
ent the eating-house at Lerdo consists of a first-class pas- 
senger-car, which will soon be replaced by a permanent 
structure. In fact, the company is constantly erecting 
new stations and shops, as well as making various improve- 
ments. The town of Parras lies about 100 miles east of 
Lerdo. {Vide ^. 243.) 

The following is a list of the various ranches along the 
line of the railway, as far as Villa Lerdo : 

Samalayuca, 1,500 head of cattle; San Jose, 3,000 head of cattle ; Cor- 
ralitos, 10,000 cattle and 30,000 sheep; Santo Domingo, 3,000 head of 



288 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

cattle ; Ojo Calienie, 1,000 head of cattle ; Carmen, 3,000 head of cattle 
and 30,000 sheep; Gallego, 3,000 head of cattle; San Lorenzo, 60,000 
sheep ; Encinillas, 5,000 head of cattle ; Agua Nueva, 4,000 cattle and 
6,000 sheep ; Torreon, 4,000 cattle and 10,000 sheep ; Sauz, 5,000 cattle ; 
Sacramento, 2,000 cattle ; Lahor, 1,500 cattle ; Tabalopu, farming, and 1,000 
cattle; Rancho de Avilos, 1,500 cattle; Mapula, 5,000 cattle; Rancho 
Viego, 5,000 cattle ; Bachimba, 4,000 cattle ; Dolores, farming ; Saucillo, 
cotton and grain ; Santa Gertrudes, 7,000 cattle ; San Luis, 2,500 cattle ; 
La Cruz, farming ; Santa Rosalia, hot sulphur springs, cotton, and grain ; 
Enremoda, 3,000 cattle ; Jimenez, farming ; Corralles, 2,000 cattle ; Gen- 
eral Grande, not stocked ; Cadena, 2,000 cattle ; San Isidro, 2,000 cattle 
and 40,000 sheep ; Memhrea, 50,000 sheep ; Villa Lerdo, cotton, grain, and 
sugar-cane. 

Leaving Lerdo, the line for 30 miles runs nearly south. 
The first station is Matamoros (elevation 3,757*6 feet) in 
the State of Coahuila. A tri-weekly diligence runs from 
Matamoros to Saltillo; fare, $18.50. Then the track enters 
Durango again near Picardias. The railway now runs 
southeasterly through the State of Coahuila for about 80 
miles, passing the stations of Jalisco and Jimulco. 

From Jimulco diligences run tri-weekly to the follow- 
ing points : 

To Chorro; 
" Horrio ; 
" Tdpias ; 
" Corralitos ; 
" Cuencam.e * , 
" San Diego ; 

Proceeding further, we pass the stations of Peralta, Cal- 
vo, La Mancha, Symon\ (elevation 6,146 feet), and San 
Isidore. 

At CamacJio, the next station (642*6 miles from Paso 
del Norte), the track enters the State of Zacatecas, and 
continues therein to a point 15 miles beyond the city of the 

* Cuencame is the seat of large silver-smelting furnaces, 
f The maximum grade from LI Paso south to Sgmon is but SY feet to 
the mile. 



fare, 


18.75. 




6.88. 




5.00. 




3.75. 




2.50. 




1.50. 



Complete List of Stations from PASO DEL NOETE southward to 
MEXICO, WITH THE Distances from the Former. 
Faso del Norte to Mexico, 1,970 kilometres, or 1224"1 miles. 



STATIONS. 



I'aso del Norte 

Mesa 

Tierra Blanca . 
Samalayuca.. . 
Los Medanos. . 

Candelaria 

Kancheria 

Sau Jose 

Carmen 

Ojo Caliente.. . 

Las Miiias 

Montezuma . . . 

Chivatito 

Gallego 

Puerto 

Laguna 

Agua Nueva . . 

Eucinillas 

Sauz 

Torreon 

Sacramento . . . 

Cliiliuahua 

Mapula 

Horcasitas 

Bachimba 

Ortiz 

Las Delicias... 

Saucillo 

Concho 

La Cruz 

Santa Eosalia. 
Bustamante. . . 

Diaz 

La Keforma . . . 

Jimenez 

Dolores 

Corralitos 

Eellano 

Escalon 

Zavalza 

Saez 

Yermo 

Conejos 

Peronal 

Mipimi 

Noe 

Lerdo 

Matamoros 

Picardias 

Jalisco 

Jiinulco 

Peralta 

Calvo 

La Mancha 

Symon 



Mii.es. 









10 


9 


19 


9 


29 


9 


41 


2 


47 


9 


59 





74 





88 


2 


95 


2 


103 


6 


111 


8 


121 


3 


139 


3 


151 


9 


164 


5 


172 


9 


181 


5 


193 


8 


201 


1 


210 


5 


224 


7 


239 





253 





263 


8 


278 


9 


283 


4 


293 


4 


303 


1 


315 


8 


325 


7 


335 


5 


347 


4 


359 


1 


371 





380 


1 


392 


2 


405 


5 


416 


7 


425 


7 


437 


2 


448 


9 


463 


5 


476 


9 


491 


8 


504 


2 


515 


2 


528 


6 


544 


3 


553 


2 


562 


1 


571 


7 


586 


6 


599 


6 


614 


6 



States. 



Cbihu 



ahua. 



Durango, 



Coatmila. 
Durango. 
Coaliuila. 



STATIONS. 


Miles. 


States. 




629 

642 

655 

668 

680 

695 

708 

717 

730 

740 

749 

767 

785 

791 

801 

823 

836 

860 

873 

890 

900 

916 

929 

937 

946 

955 

965 

974 

986 

994 

1004 

1010 

1017 

1031 

1042 

1051 

1060 

1071 

1074 

1089 

1105 

1124 

1129 

1138 

1143 

1148 

1150 

1154 

1165 

1174 

1185 

1191 

1195 

1201 

1206 

1211 

1212 

1216 

1224 



6 
9 
1 

9 
8 
2 
9 
3 
7 
1 
5 
6 
1 
8 
5 
5 
9 
3 
7 


4 

6 
7 
3 
4 
6 
9 
6 
5 
4 
8 

1 
5 
3 
8 
7 

7 
4 
4 
5 
4 
1 
9 
4 
3 
5 
2 
7 
9 
1 
9 
8 
1 




Camacho 


Zacatecas 


Gonzalez 




Guzman 


u 


Pacheco. 


u 




u 


Cedro 


u 


Canitas .... 


u 




u 




u 


Fresnillo 


u 




(( 


Zacatecas 


1( 


Guadalupe 


u 


Summit 


(( 


Soledad 


Aguascalientes, 






u 


Penuelas 


u 




Jalisco. 




u 




u 


Ijacos 


u 




u 


Pedrito 


u 




Guanaiiiato. 












Silao 




















Guaje 












Mariscala 






Queretaro. 

u 






u 


San Juan del Eio 


(1 




Hidalgo. 


Polotitlan 


Mexico. 




Hidalgo. 


Nopala 


u ■" 




u 




Mexico. 






San Antonio 


Hidalgo. 


Tula 


El Salto 


u 




Mexico. 


Huehuetoca 






u 


Cuautitlan 


u 




u 


Barrientos 


" 


Tlalnepantla 




Mexico 


Federal Di.strict. 













TEE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 289 

same name. From Camaclio the Hue trends south to La 
Colorado, 53 miles. Thence the course of the road is 
southwesterly to Fresnillo (population 15,000, and eleva- 
tion 6,861 '7 feet). The district of Fresnillo was discovered 
in 1569. It contains rich silver-mines, the principal of 
which are in the Cerro del Proano. 

Diligences run tri-weekly from Fresnillo to Durango ; 
fare, $15. 

Fresnillo is the nearest town on the railway to the min- 
ing district of Somhrerete, where much capital has lately 
been invested by Americans. 

From Fresnillo the train goes southeast past the station 
of Calera to Zacatecas (elevation 8,011*5 feet), 785 '5 miles 
from Paso del Norte. ( Vide p. 276.) 

The Mexican Central Eailway was completed, near the 
station of Fresnillo, on March 8, 1884. The 1,224 miles 
were built in about three years and six months, i. e., at the 
ri.te of more than one mile daily during the actual time em- 
ployed. Eight miles were laid during the last day. This 
is said to be the best daily record in the history of railway- 
construction. This line is the first completed railroad run- 
ning from the north temperate zone into the tropics. It is 
also the first to connect the capitals of the two independent 
nations of North America. It cost, in round numbers, 

132,500,000. 

Zacatecas to Mexico. 

Vide pp. 254 to 278. 

(The itinerary begins at the City of Mexico and goes northward to 
Zacatecas.) 

On October 1, 1885, the total "mileage" of completed track belonging 
to the Mexican Central was 1,354. This includes the Tampico and San 
Bias divisions. 



SECTION VI. 
The International and Interoceanic Railway. 




Scene in Northern Mexico. 



(Compare with 
chapter on railroads.) 

The full name of this 
line is the Mexican, Orien- 
tal, Interoceanic, and In- 
ternational Eailway, although it is generally called the 
International and Interoceanic Eailway. It is popularly 
known as '^Jay Grould's road." So little work has been 
done thus far that the entire region which lies along the 
route can only be yisited by wagon or on horseback. 

The charter was granted on June 7, 1881. In May, 
1883, this railway and the Mexican Southern Eailroad, of 
which General U. S. Grant is president, were consolidated 
under one management. The two roads will henceforth be 
known as the Mexican Southern Railroad. 



SECTION VII. 

The Mexican Southern Hailroad. 

(See chapter on railroads.) 

The original concession for building the Mexican South- 
ern Eailroad was granted on May 26, 1881. 

We will describe the route of the former International 
and Interoceanic Kailway before sketching the line of the 
Mexican Southern proper. 

The first-named road was chartered to run from New 
Laredo, on the Rio Grande, to the City of Mexico, a dis- 
tance of 680 miles. 

The following is a condensed itinerary of this route : 

A station has been erected at New Laredo, and on Sep- 
tember 1, 1883, about 100 miles of road had been graded, 
but only a half-mile of track had been completed. 

From New Laredo the route follows the course of the 
Rio Grande to Mier via Guerrero. 

Leaving Mier, the road goes southward to China. The 
company has the option of constructing a branch to Mata- 
moros, 100 miles distant from Mier. There are wagon- 
roads from China to Monterey (60 miles), and also to 
Matamoros (90 miles). The line passes to the eastward of 
Teran and Linares, running almost due south from China 
to Victoria, 270 miles from Neiu Laredo. 

There is not much cultivation along this division of the 
railway till Victoria is reached. Here many kinds of fruit 
and sugar-cane, as well as wheat and Indian corn, are grown. 
Victoria lies on the border of the tierra tetnplada. It is 



292 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



the capital of the State of Tmnaulipas, and has a popula- 
tion of 8,000. The best hotel is the Hidalgo. This town 
is 271 miles from San Luis Potosi via Tula. 

From Victoria the line will have a southeasterly direc- 
tion, and it will cross the Rio Pdnuco, near the village of 
Tanjuco, about 45 miles from its mouth. A good wagon- 
road goes from Victoria to Tancasneque, on the Rio Ta- 




Victoria and Tula Pass. 



mesi. A small steamer runs from the latter place down the 
river to Tampico. The scenery along this route is beautiful. 
The company has the option of building branch roads 
to the port of Tampico and to San Luis Potosi, but the 
Mexican Central Eailway Company is pushing the comple- 
tion of its line from this port westward to San Luis Potosi, 
and has now (February, 1885) about ninety miles of track 



THE MEXICAN SOUTHERN RAILROAD. 293 

finislied. It is not probable, therefore, that the Mexican 
Southern will compete with the latter company. 

Leaving the Pdnuco Eiver, the route will be southeast- 
erly toward Tulancingo, and thence southwestward to the 
City of Mexico. 

The line will be easy to construct as far as Victoria. 
South of this station it will extend through the mountains 
on the eastern edge of the great table-land, and will require 
rather heavy grades * and some tunneling. This division 
will traverse the Huasteca country, which is one of the 
richest portions of the Republic both in agricultural prod- 
ucts and in mineral deposits. 

The proximity of this railway to the seaboard should 
also be considered. This company has the choice of ex- 
tending branch roads to Tuxpan and Vera Cruz. This 
scheme would, of course, be a formidable opposition line 
to the Mexican Railway Company. 

Judging from the topography of the country, the new 
American road will be easier to construct than the Mexican 
Railway. 

The southern division may be described as follows : 

Leaving the City of Mexico, the Mexican Southern 
Railroad will run parallel with the Mexican Railway (as, 
in the terms of the charter, it is not allowed to cross it) to 
Irolo (45 miles). This division of the road will compete 
with the English line in the transportation oi pulque to the 
capital. It is said that the Mexican Railway Company 
makes a net profit of $1,000 a day on the "pulque" train. 

From Irolo the track will be continued over a level 
country to Puebla (111 miles). Thence the line will run 
southeasterly to Tehuacan (182 miles). A tramway leads 
from this station to Esperanza, 31 miles distant. ( Vide 
Section II.) 

The road will go south from Tehuacan, following the 

* Two-and-a-half per-cent grades. 



294 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



course of the Rio Salado for several leagues to Arena!, 
where the Salado and Cuicatlan Rivers unite and form the 
Rio Quiotejjec. 

A renal is 237 miles from the capital. Three bridges 
will be erected in the vicinity. A branch line is in process 
of construction from Anton Lizardo, on the Gulf of Mex- 




Scene in Mexico. 



ico, toward Arenal, via Amapa and Tuxtepec. Anton Li- 
zardo is 142 miles from Arenal junction. The former town 
is the only good port on the Gulf coast. The harbor has 
recently been improved. The eastern division of the Mex- 
ican Southern Eailroad will be extended to Vera Cruz, 23 
miles distant. The merchants in that city are very jealous 
of this railway. They foresee that it will eventually divert 
the foreign commerce to Anton Lizardo. 

But little artificial grading will be required on the east- 
ern division, and the heaviest grade, according to the sur- 
veys, is seventy-two feet to the mile. 



THE MEXICAN SOUTHERN RAILROAD. 295 

From Arenal the main line will run almost clue south- 
ward along the Rio Cuicatlan through a well-timbered 
region to Seclas (301 miles). Thence it will go to Oaxaca 
(350 miles). 

The highest point of the route is 5,500 feet above the 
sea-level. 

OAXACA. 

Population, 26,228; elevation, about 5,000 feet.* 
Hotels. — Xacional, De la Paz. 

The city is the capital of the State of the same name, 
and it has recently received the surname of the illustrious 
Juarez, f Senor Busto, the well-known statistician, calls it 
Oaxaca de Juarez. The word Oaxaca was formerly spelled 
Guaxaca, being derived from the Mexican name of the city 
and valley of Huaxyacac in the Tzapotec country. After 
the Conquest, Cortes received the title of Marquis of the 
Valley of Oaxaca, and some of his descendants are still 
living in this State. 

Places of Interest. — The Cathedral and several old convents. 

Sugar-cane, maize, wheat, and barley grow in the vicin- 
ity. 

The ruined palaces of 3Iitla lie about 25 miles east of 
Oaxaca. These ruins, except the teocallis, are the most 
accessible in Mexico. They are described in Chapter V in 
Part First. 

Leaving the city of Oaxaca, the railway will run south- 
ward with a descending grade to Amatlan, Ejutla, and 
Miahuatlan. The latter town is about 65 miles distant 
from Puerto Angel, the principal port of the State. The 
Pacific Mail steamers touch there. It is also about 420 
miles distant from the national capital. 

From Miahuatlan the road takes an easterly course over 

* Estimated by the author. 

f Juarez was a pure-blooded Tzapotec Indian from Oaxaca. 
14 



296 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

a rugged country to the town of Tehuantepec (523 miles), 
which is only ten miles from La Ventosa, on the coast. 
The Pacific Mail steamers stop at the adjoining port of 
Salina Cruz. This place has a good harbor, and will be- 
come the terminus of the projected railway across the isth- 
mus. The Mexican Southern Eailroad will make connec- 
tion with the Tehuantepec Eailroad at the station of that 
name. The former road will be extended eastward from 
the town of TeJiuantepec (population, 12,000) to Tonald on 
the coast. (See Section IX.) 

Tonald lies in the State of Chiapas, and the steamers of 
the Pacific Mail Steamship Company call at this port once 
a month, the distances to San Francisco and Panama being 
2,204 miles and 1,223 miles, respectively. 

Leaving Tonald, the main line bifurcates. One branch 
runs northeasterly to San Cristohal, and the other extends 
to TapacJiula,* and thence will probably be continued to 
the city of Guatemala. 

The region traversed by the southern division of the main 
line of this railway lies mostly in the States of Vera Cruz, 
Oaxaca, and Chiapas. It is very rich in mineral deposits 
and in agricultural products. The climate is salubrious, 
and the vegetation is luxuriant along the greater part of 
the route. The State of Oaxaca contains valuable mines 
of gold, silver, iron, copper, and mercury. The cereals, 
brown beans, and tobacco, are grown in abundance. This 
State is also noted for yielding a large supply of cochineal. 
Petroleum is found near Puerto Angel. The States of 
Vera Cruz and Chiapas are rich in coffee, sugar-cane, co- 
coa, tobacco, indigo, vanilla, and India-rubber. We may 
add that the former State ranks foremost in Mexico in the 
production of coffee and tobacco, and second in that of 
sugar. 

* Senor M. Romero, the Mexican Minister at Washington, has resided 
for many years at Tapachula. 



TEE MEXICAN SOUTEERIT RAILROAD. 



297 



Several very wealthy and influential capitalists are stock- 
holders in the Mexican Southern Eailroad Company. It is 
now believed that the main line will be completed at an 
early day. Senor Matias Eomero, in an article on Rail- 
ways in Mexico, published in the International Review 
for November, 1882, states that the inhabitants of Oaxaca 
are very anxious to have this road finished as soon as pos- 
sible ; and that the merchants threaten to withdraw their 
capital from the State if the construction of the railway is 
delayed much longer. 




SECTION yiii. 

The Morelos Railway (Ferrocarril de Morelos). 

(See chapter on railroads. ) 

This line has two divisions — one goes to Texcoco and 
Irolo, and the other to Cuautla. Both are the same as far 
as Los Reyes, 17 kilometres from the capital. 

1. From Mexico to Cuautla ; distance, 138 kilometres, or 85|- miles ; time, 
nine hours. Two passenger-trains daily. Fai'es, first class, $2.70 ; sec- 
ond class, $1.38. 

Leaving the station of San Lazaro, the track goes east- 
erly past the Lake of Texcoco to Los Reyes. The old stage- 
road lies near the railroad, and runs parallel with it for 
several miles. The railway now forks, the northeastern 
branch being built to Texcoco (42 kilometres), and thence 
toward Irolo. 

Texcoco is famous in the history of old Mexico, or Ana- 
huac. {Restaurante Universo.) It was the chief city next 
to Tenochtitlan. Many of the ancient kings lived here, 
and since the Conquest it has become an important place 
for the manufacture of woolen and cotton goods. The 
ruins of three teocalUs are still visible. But to give a com- 
plete history of Texcoco, with its relations to the Aztecs, 
Toltecs, and their predecessors, would require a volume, so 
we will not dwell upon it here. This branch extends to 
Irolo, in the midst of a maguey region, and is to some de- 
gree an opposition line to the Mexican Kailway in the trans- 
portation of pulque to the capital. It is worthy of remark 



THE MO RE LOS HAIL WAY. 299 

that trains of a dozen cars on the former road are often 
loaded with pulque in barrels between the stations of Irolo 
and Mexico, a distance of 77 kilometres. (See p. 293.) 

From Los Reyes the train runs eastward to Ayotla (25 
kilometres). It then turns to the south, and skirts the 
Lake of Chalco, passing tlie stations of La Compania (35 
kilometres), Tenango (47 kilometres), and, after ascending 
a heavy grade, reaches Amecameca (58 kilometres). 

AMECAMECA. 

Population, 10,000 ; elevation, 8,223 feet. 
Hotel. — ^At the railway-station, and meson, on the plaza. 
Places of Interest. — 1. The volcano of Popocatepetl. 2. The Sacro- 
monte. 

No tourist visits Amecameca for any other purpose than 
to ascend the great volcano. It is the culminating point * of 
North America, being 17,720 feet above the sea-level. The 
trip to the summit and back requires two days ; but, if the 
traveler wishes to ride and walk rapidly, and possesses ex- 
traordinary physical powers, a day and a half will be suffi- 
cient. He may leave the capital in the morning, and arrive 
at the ranch of Tlamacas, on the ridge-line between Popo- 
catepetl and Iztaccilmatl, the same evening. The next day 
the great volcano may be ascended. The traveler can re- 
turn to Amecameca in the evening, but not in time to take 
the afternoon train, unless he makes fast time on foot and 
on horseback. 

Before setting out, it will be advisable to obtain per- 
mission to sleep at the cabin of Tlamacas from the owner. 
General Sanchez Ochoa, who now (1883) resides in the Hotel 
Lturbide, at the capital. If the tourist fail to see General 
Ochoa, he can sleep either in the open air or in a dilapidated 
building at the ranch. The house which is generally used 

* The original measurement of Mount Saint Elias — i. e., 19,000 feet — 
hai been found to be incorrect. 



300 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

is a framed structure, with a loose board floor, and is not 
provided with beds nor mattresses. There are, however, 
earthenware pots, a few plates, and glasses — all of which 
are, of course, convenient even for a single night. 

On arrival at Amecameca, the traveler should lose no 
time in engaging horses and guides, and he must also pro- 
vide himself with blankets, provisions, and an alpenstock. 
Senor Francisco Noriega, who keeps a large store on the 
north side of the plaza, will assist the stranger in procuring 
the wherewithal for the trip. An extra servant, or mozo, 
should accompany the party, to take charge of the horses 
during the ascent of the volcano. One guide to each trav- 
eler will be necessary, and it is unadvisable for a party of 
three or four persons to climb the peak with a single one. 
The cost of each guide will be five dollars, and of a mozo 
three dollars. Horses can be hired for a dollar a day. 

Having made the necessary preparations, the tourist 
will take the road leading out of the southeastern corner of 
the town, and travel nearly due east toward the Sierra. 
■Fine wheat-fields are passed on the way, and the soil is well 
watered by the melting snow of the great volcano. The 
path soon rises, and enters a magnificent forest — a rare 
feature in the scenery of the table-land — where lofty pines, 
spruces, and firs abound. Proceeding farther, the trail 
from Pueila soon Joins the main path from Amecameca. 
We now reach a growth of thick grass, and, after crossing 
the crest-line of the ridge and descending the eastern slope 
for about three hundred yards, the ranch of Tlamacas lies 
before us. The distance from Amecameca is about twelve 
miles. 

In starting out for the summit of Popocatepetl, the 
tourist is advised to leave the cabin by 4 A. m., if possible. 
A horse may be ridden to the edge of the snow-line, about 
half a mile distant. The ankles should be protected with 
stout gaiters or pieces of flannel, and the boots should be 



THE MORELOS RAILWAY. 301 

well greased, with a view to keeping the feet as dry as pos- 
sible. The guides will generally attend to the needs of the 
tourist, and will carry an extra wrap or cloak, together with 
wine and provisions, on their backs. 

The lower part of the peak of the volcano has a slope 
of about twenty degrees, while the angle increases in ascend- 
ing until it reaches about forty-five degrees Just below the 
summit. 

Travelers should keep their alpenstocks on the upjjer 
side of the incline while ascending the peak ; and, in case 
of a slip, the weight of the body must be immediately 
thrown on the alpenstock. Tourists are not tied together by 
a rope, as in Switzerland. The air is so rarefied that one 
is compelled to walk very slowly. During the latter part 
of the ascent it is difiicult to make more than two hundred 
yards in an hour. In general, six hours will be required to 
reach the top of the peak from Tlamacas. The upper part 
of it is covered with ice, and is practically a glacier, having 
a very uneven surface. 

The crater is not visible until one arrives at the edge. 
A rough estimate of its dimensions would give the diameter 
at 500 yards, and the depth at 150 yards. There are sev- 
eral fumaroles in the crater from which sulphurous-acid 
gas is emitted, and a small pond is to be found at the bot- 
tom. According to the author's thermometer, the tempera- 
ture of the air on the summit, at ten o'clock a. m., was 32° 
Falir. Clouds usually envelop the peak of Popocatepetl 
after ten o'clock in the forenoon, and the tourist should en- 
deavor to reach the summit by that hour. 

We have not space to describe the view, which is so ex- 
tensive that a region of about 100,000 square n>iles in area 
is visible. Suffice it to say that the Gulf of Mexico (150 
miles distant) may be seen on a clear day. On account of 
the highly rarefied atmosphere, not longer than one hour 
should be passed on the summit. 



302 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



The descent may be made in one hour and a half. If 
the snow be tolerably soft, the tourist can sit on a petate, 
or piece of matting, with the guide, and slide down the 
slope. A rope is attached to the front part of the petate, 
which is held by the senor, and the guide, who is seated 
behind, steers with his aljoenstock. The operation is simi- 
lar to coasting. 

Should the stranger fail to ascend the mountain the 
first time, he can spend two nights at the ranch of Tlama- 
cas, and make a second attempt on the following day. The 




Aca2)uleo. 

sooner the lungs become accustomed to the atmosijhere at 
this great elevation the easier it will be to climb the peak. 
It is hardly necessary to add that the ascent of Popocatepetl 
is well worth the trouble and expense which it involves. 

A visit to the Sacromonte, one of the most famous 
shrines in Mexico, will be found interesting. This mount- 
ain lies on the western side of the town of Amecameca, and 



THE MORELOS RAILWAY. 303 

rises about 300 feet above the plain, A paved pathway- 
leads to a chapel on the summit. There are fourteen '* sta- 
tions," each having a cross and inscription in Spanish, along 
this path. Many ex votos are seen at the door of the chapel. 
Some of them are in the form of oil-paintings, while others 
consist of silver arms and legs, which are hung in a glass 
case. An image of Nuestro Senor de Sacromonte is placed 
on the high altar. The saint wears a gold-embroidered 
cloak of velvet. Eibbons of various colors, giving the size 
of the head of Our Lord of the Sacred Mountain, are sold 
at the entrance and also at the foot of the pathway. The 
hill is covered with a dense growth of cedars. 

Leaving Amecameca, the railway runs almost due south 
past the stations of Ozumba (70 kilometres), Nepantla (95 
kilometres), Yecapixtla (111 kilometres), and reaches Cu- 
autla (138 kilometres). The chief object of interest on 
the road is the bridge at Ozumba, which is 618 feet long 
and 41 feet high. 

Cuautla, the principal city of the State of Morelos, has 
a population of about 14,000. The name is derived from 
Quauhtli — i. e., delightful hills — a term given to the town 
by its founders, the Tlahuicos. It was conquered by the 
Spaniards in 1521, and was created a city in 1829. The 
objects of interest are the parochial church, City Hall, 
and Alameda. 

2. From Ccaittla to Acapulco, about 200 miles. 

The railway will be extended from Cuautla to Cuerna- 
vaca, and thence to Acapulco via Clnlpancingo. Cuerna- 
vaca is described m Section IIL From a point about 25 
miles south of this town, the line will run entirely within 
Guerrero, a State that possesses immense mineral wealth, 
which IS almost totally undeveloped. All trojjical fruits, and 
corn, beans, peas, cotton, and sugar-cane, are grown in this 
State. There is also a great variety of timber in Guerrero. 



304 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



The region lying along tlie proposed line of railroad does 
not possess many places of interest to the traveler. CMl- 
pancingo, the capital of the State, is celebrated in history 
as the town where the first Mexican Congress assembled, 
on September 13, 1813, after the cry for independence had 
been raised by Hidalgo. This town has a population of 
3,800 inhabitants. (For description of Acapulco, see Sec- 
tion IV, p. 236.) 

It is said that the Morelos narrow-gange road will be 
built to the port of Vera Cruz, via Perote and Jalapa, at 
some future time. We are of the opinion that this part 
of the line will not be completed for several years. 




Tree-Fern. 



SECTION IX. 
The Tehuantepec Railroad, 

(Compare with chapter on railroads.) 

During the last fifty years plans for establishing a com- 
munication between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via 
the Isthmus of Telmantejpec have been discussed. The 
Mexican Government in 1841 granted a concession to Don 
Jose de Garay to make a connection between the two 
oceans, provided that the grantee should make a survey, at 
his own expense, of the ground and the direction which the 
route should follow, and also of the ports which might be 
deemed most convenient from their proximity. A survey 
was duly made, and reports were published. But the route 
was not necessarily to be a canal, although Senor Moro, the 
engineer, based his operations upon this assumption. 

Soon after the termination of the war with the United 
States, the franchise of Senor de Garay became the projierty 
of Mr. P. A. Hargous, of New York, who, in connection with 
a company organized in New Orleans, assumed the rights 
and responsibilities of the Garay grant. After negotiations 
with the Mexican Government and unavoidable delays, it 
was agreed that a railroad would be more practicable than 
a canal. Accordingly, a survey for a railway across the 
isthmus was made in 1851, under the direction of the late 
General J. G. Barnard, of the United States Army, who 
was detailed for that purpose. The surveys demonstrated 
that a railway would be feasible at a moderate expense ; 
that the grades did not exceed 60 feet per mile, except at 



306 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

the OMvela Pass, where they were 116 feet per mile for the 
distance of eight miles ; and that the summit was 720 feet 
above the sea-level. 

In 1857 the railroad project was resumed, and a new 
survey was executed under the direction of Colonel W. H. 
Sidell, of the United States Army. Owing to various 
reasons, this line was never constructed. 

In 1870 the Tehuantepec Railway Company was formed 
in New York. Mr. Simon Stevens became its president, 
with the late Hon. Marshall 0= Eoberts as promoter. New 
surveys and explorations were made, but the road was not 
built under this administration. Upon a reorganization of 
the company after unavoidable delays, and with a change 
of president, and under a charter from the State of Massa- 
chusetts, a modified concession was obtained from the Mex- 
ican Government on June 2, 1879, to build the Teliuan- 
tepec Eailroad. A subsidy of $7,500 per kilometre was 
included in the concession. The track was not to exceed 
300 kilometres (186 miles) in length. 

The Tehuantepec Eailroad was not finished by the above- 
mentioned company. It is said that not more than forty 
kilometres were constructed by this foreign corporation. 

In 1882 the Mexican Government made a contract with 
private individuals for the completion of the Tehuantepec 
line ; and in January, 1884, the track was finished from 
the mouth of the Goatzacoalcos* Eiver to Jaltipam, a 
distance of 25 miles. The route of the projected railway 
is about 190 miles in length. The work of construction 
from Minatitlan to the port of Salina Cruz is now be- 
ing pushed vigorously by the Government. It is believed 
that the road will be finished and opened for trafiic in 
1885. 

The line runs due north and south, and it will traverse 
the southern portions of the States of Vera Cruz and Oa- 

* Also spelled Coatzacocdcos. 



THE TEHUANTEPEG RAILROAD. 307 

xaca. The adjacent country may be concisely described as 
follows : 

The depth of water at low tide is thirteen feet on the 
bar at the mouth of the Goatzacoalcos River, which is navi- 
gable for a distance of 30 miles. Placer gold-deposits are 
said to exist in the interior of the isthmus, although the 
country has not yet been geologically explored. Large beds 
of asphalt also occur. The vegetable productions of this 
region are indigo, tobacco, sugar-cane, cocoa, cotton, coffee, 
Indian corn, vanilla, sarsaparilla, ginger, and India-rubber. 

The terminus of the road will be at Salina Cruz, three 
miles west of La Ventosa, on the Pacific coast, which is 
considered a safe harbor. It is said that work on the south- 
ern section of this railway has begun. Winter is the best 
season for visiting the isthmus, as the summers are very 
hot and a great variety of insects abound. Some of them 
are poisonous, and the tourist should exercise extreme cau- 
tion to avoid being bitten while traveling through the jungle 
or in camping out. 

Humboldt, in his Political Essay on New Spain, has 
referred to the possibility of making the Isthmus of Tehuan- 
tepec an avenue of travel at some future day. He gives 
the width of the isthmus at 118 miles. The connections 
of the Tehuantepec Eailroad with the Mexican Southern 
Railroad are mentioned in Section YII. 

Captain J. B. Eads has recently visited England, to procure capital to 
build the Tehuantepec Ship Railway. 

The advantages to commerce of a means of communication across the 
isthmus (either by land or water) can hardly be overestimated. This route 
lies between latitude 16° and 18°, and, unlike the malarious climate of Pa- 
nama, the region is comparatively healthy all the year round. While the 
commerce between Europe and the Pacific Ocean will be carried on via the 
Isthmus of Panama for many years, the greater part of the trade between 
the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States must needs be con- 
ducted across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec as soon as the railway is finished. 

It is hardly necessary to say that the latter route will soon become a 



308 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



Tcry formidable competitor to the Panama Railway as regards passenger 
traffic. 

The distance from New York to San Francisco via TeTiuantepec is 1,477 
miles shorter than via Panama, and that from New Orleans to San Francisco 
is 2,3 b4 miles less by the former than by the latter route. 







A Scene on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 



SECTION" X. 
The Sonora Railway. 

From Benson to Gitaymas. Distance, 353 miles; time, 19 hours; fare, $21. 

As already stated, the Sonora Eailway connects with 
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe and Southern Pacific 
Railroads. 

(For a full description of these routes, see Appletons' 
General Guide to the United States.) 

Elevation of Benson, 3,578 feet; distance from San Francisco, 1,024 
miles. 

Leaving Benson, the line takes a southwesterly direction 
through the lower part of Arizona to Nogales on the Mexi- 
can frontier, 88 miles distant. The train stops thirty min- 
utes here. The line between the points just mentioned is 
called the Neio Mexico and Arizona Railroad, the stations 
along the route being : Canisteo, 7 miles ; Contention, 15 
miles ; Faii'hanTcs, 18 miles ; BrooMine, 23 miles ; Hua- 
cliuca, 29 miles ; Elgin, 40 miles ; Sonoita, 49 miles ; Crit- 
tenden, 58 miles ; Sanford's, 68 miles ; Calahasas, 77 miles ; 
and Nogales, 88 miles. 

The road from Nogales to Guaymas is the Sonora Rail- 
luay proper. It was completed on November 25, 1882. The 
stations from Nogales southward are : Encina, 94 miles ; 
Agua Zarca, 100 miles ; Cibuta, 109 miles ; Casita, 115 
miles ; Imuris, 130 miles (fifteen minutes' stop) ; Piersons, 
135 miles ; Sa7i Ignacio, 137 miles ; Magdalena, 142 miles, 
Santa Ana, 153 miles ; Llano, 160 miles ; Puerto, 183 



310 



CITIES AXD ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



miles ; Querobabi, 189 miles ; Posa, 205 miles ; Carlo, 317 
miles ; Pesqueira, 239 miles ; Zamora, 247 miles ; Junc- 
tion, 260 miles ; Hermosillo, 263 miles (thirty minutes' 
stop) ; Willard, 274 miles ; Torres, 289 miles ; Moreno, 
307 miles ; Ortiz, 323 miles ; Santa Rosa, 333 miles ; May- 
torena, 338 miles ; Batamotal, 345 miles ; Long Bridge, 
348 miles ; Batuecas, 350 miles ; Guaymas, 353 miles. 




Fronteras, Sonora. 



This road extends through a fine cereal and grazing 
country. Oranges, pears, melons, and other fruits grow 
at Hermosillo and to the southward. This town has 7,000 
inhabitants. It contains a good hotel, the Cosmopolitan. 
Hermosillo lies in a valley about ten miles long and four 
miles wide. It is at the base of the Sierra de la Campana, 



v- 









^t., 



ii !i:::ii;ii 



IBIfei 



iii'iiii 



'"■ .\ 



J' 'ii ' \ ^ 




\/ ■>' ■!' i -A-' I: , 5 H I I 



312 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



a rugged mountain of limestone. Magdalena has a popula- 
tion of 3,000. A wagon-road leads thence to the town of 
Ures. Another line of railroad will soon be constructed 






Arispe. 



from Hermosillo via Ures, Arispe, Baclmaclii, and Espia 
to Paso del Norte. 

The famous Mulatos * mine lies about 120 miles east of 
Ures. 

There is a fine Alameda at Arispe. The capital of the 
State was formerly located here. In 1832 it was removed 
to Ures, which now has 9,700 inhabitants. 

Guaymas, the terminus of the Sonar a Railioay, has a 

* A million dollars was recently offered and refused for this mine. 



THE SONORA RAILWAY. 313 

population of 6,000. The hotels are the Cosmo2JoUtan and 
Central. Plans for building a railroad to this town have 
been discussed for many years. Now that the line is fin- 
ished, Guaymas is destined to grow rapidly. 

The completion of this road is a very important event, 
as it establishes the third interoceanic route on this conti- 
nent. When fast trains are placed on the Atchison, Tope- 
ka and Santa Fe line, the journey may be made from New 
York to Ouaymas in five days and a few hours. The fare 
by rail is $108.40. The new line is expected to facilitate 
communication with Australia, while it will also give the 
traders of the Mexican, Central, and South American coasts 
an opportunity to send their j^roducts quickly to the Mis- 
sissippi Valley, the East, and the large cities that lie be- 
tween the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. 

The Sonora Eailway also affords Americans a short 
route to the ports on the Pacific coast of Mexico. 

The city lies in latitude 28° north and longitude 110° 
40' west of Greenwich. It is situated at the foot of a ridge 
of mountains, and is well protected from winds. Its land- 
locked harbor is one of the best on the Mexican coast. 

The entrance to the port is encompassed by islands. 
The bottom is covered with a very soft mud, so that mas- 
ters of vessels intending to remain a long time in the har- 
bor are obliged to raise their anchors occasionally to prevent 
them from sinking too deeply. 

The depth of water in the inner harbor is from two to 
four fathoms, affording safe anchorage for vessels drawing 
from fifteen to eighteen feet. The dej)tli of the outer har- 
bor is from four to seven fathoms, allowing safe anchorage 
for vessels of twenty-two to twenty-eight feet draught. 
The bay abounds in a great variety of fish. 

Guaymas is built along the shore of the bay, its length 
being about one mile, and its breadth not exceeding a quar- 
ter of a mile. The houses are of stone, brick, and adobe. 



814 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



m 



t ' ' 1 1 ' ' 











^^'' -IvV '-^^^^s^^^H-^/^ 



The climate is exceedingly liot in summer, but delightful 
in winter. The atmosphere is dry, except in the rainy sea- 
son, which lasts from June to September. 



TEE SONORA RAIL WA Y. 315 

Steamers leave Guaymas every twenty days for Manza- 
nillo, touching at Altata, La Paz, Mazatlan, and San Bias. 

A wagon-road extends from Guaymas to Buena Vista 
on the Rio Yaqui, about 100 miles distant, and thence to 
the mining town of Alamos, in the southern part of the 
State. 

There is immense mineral wealth in Sonora, which will 
be developed by the new railroads. Mines of gold, silver, 
iron, lead, copper, antimony, tin, and sulphur are found 
in the region adjacent to the Sonora Railway, and to the 
branch road running toward the State of Chihuahua. De- 
posits of carbonate of soda, alum, salt, marble, and gypsum 
are also abundant along these routes. The same minerals 
occur at Oposura, Saguaripa, Altar, and Alamos, the last- 
named town containing the richest gold and silver mines 
in the State. 

For many years the depredations of the Apache Indians 
have interfered materially with the develoijment of the 
metallic wealth. 

One of the most important mineral deposits of Sonora 
is anthracite, which has recently been discovered at Bar- 
ranca, on the Yaqui River, about 100 miles from its mouth. 
The coal is found in sandstone and conglomerate, and is 
said to contain 90 per cent of carbon. It is probably the 
largest and richest bed of coal in Mexico. 

The agricultural products have already been briefly 
mentioned, but it may be remarked that good crops of 
sugar-cane, tobacco, rice, and brown beans are also culti- 
vated. Such trees as the rosewood, ebony, logwood, and 
Brazil-wood grow in abundance. 



SECTION XI. 

Tlie American and Mexican Pacific Railway. 

The corporate name of this company is "The Texas, 
Topolobampo and Pacific Eailroad and Telegraph Com- 
pany." Its charter was formed, under the general railroad 
law of Massachusetts, on the 8th of March, 1881. 

The concession from the Mexican Government was ob- 
tained on the 13th of June, 1881, and amended on Decem- 
ber 5, 1882. The leading provisions are as follow : The 
right to construct or operate for ninety-nine years a trunk- 
line of railroad from Topoloiampo Bay to Piedras Negras, 
on the Eio Grande ; also to extend branches from the main 
line to Alamos, in Sonora, to Mazatlan, in Sinaloa, to 
Presidio del Norte, on the Rio Grande, and to other points 
— a total of about 2,000 miles. A subsidy from the Mexi- 
can Government of 18,064 per mile ujDon all of its lines — 
making a total of about 116,000,000. The freight tariff 
per ton for each kilometre of distance is not to exceed six 
cents on first-class, four cents on second-class, and two and 
a half cents on third-class goods, and one and a half cents 
on every ton of coal. The passenger rates per kilometre 
must not exceed three cents, two cents, and one cent and 
a half for the first, second, and third classes, respectively. 
The Federal Government agrees not to subsidize any par- 
allel railway within a limit of twenty-five leagues on either 
side of the company's lines. 

"Wood is abundant along the greater part of the route. 
Pines and oaks are found at an elevation of 4,000 feet and 



AMERICAN AND MEXICAN PA CIFIC RAIL WA Y. 317 

upward. Cedars and firs grow on the crest of the Sierra 
Madre, above 6,500 feet. 

The State of Chihuahua possesses fine grazing-land (see 
p. 285). There are much fertile soil and valuable timber in 
the portions of Sinaloa adjacent to the line. 



P-'^l^.v.^ 




The Pitahaya. 

This curious plant is common in various parts of Sonora. The stem is from one foot to 
two and a half feet in diameter, and the height varies from twenty to fifty feet. 



The following is a condensed itinerary of this line from 
Topolohaynpo to Pieth'as Negi'as : 

Gonzalez City, on the north side of the inner port of Topolohampo Bay, 
will be the site of the western terminus of the railway. The projected 



318 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

city has a water front of 7^ miles. It lies in north latitude 25° 32'. The 
harbor is 18 miles long, and from one to six miles in width. It consists of 
two great basins, which are connected by the straits of Joshua. The water 
is 21 feet deep on the bar at low tide. Topolohampo is a far better port 
than Mazatlan. 

Leaving Gonzalez City, the railway will have a northerly course as far 
as Fuerte. It will then enter the " foot-hills " of the Sierra Madre, traverse 
the southeastern corner of the State of Sonora, and run northeasterly, near 
the rich mining districts of Urique and Batopilas, to the town of Bocogna 
(elevation, 7,300 feet), in ChihuaJiua. From this place the line will take 
an easterly direction to Nonoavas, and, through the valley of the Rio Con- 
chos, to a point near Parral. Thence the road-bed will descend to Jimenez^ 
on the Mexican Central Railway. Leaving this station, the track will be 
continued across the Bolson de Mapimi, and through the State of Coahuila, 
to Piedras Negras, on the Rio Grande. 

From this point, connection can easily be made with 
lines for G-alyeston, New Orleans, or the South Atlantic 
coast. 

This road will traverse a region in which Americans 
have invested large amounts of capital. The projectors of 
the railway hope to obtain much of the overland traffic 
from New York to Australia and New Zealand, as the dis- 
tance to Auckland is 530 miles shorter via Topolohampo 
Bay than via San Francisco, Gal. Hon. Williao Windom 
is the president of this new railroad company. Xn Decem- 
ber, 1884, a contract was made with the Mexican American 
Construction Company, to build 100 miles of road from 
Topolohampo to Baca. On February 17, 1885, the grading 
under this contract was begun, and it is now progressing 
under favorable auspices. 



SECTION XII. 

The New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad (better known 
as Count Telfener's Railroad). 

This line begins at Rosenburg Junction, Texas, and will 
run to Brownsville, on the northern side of the Rio Grande, 
via WJiarton, Victoria, San Patricio, and Banquete. 

There are two hotels in Broivnsville, Miller's and the 
Rio Grande. The objects of interest are : Old Fort Brown, 
the United States Cemetery, the battle-fields of Palo Alto 
and Resaca de la Palma, and Point Isabel. 

The road will cross the Rio Grande at Brownsville, and, 
entering Matamoros, it will extend southward to Tampico, 
a distance of about 275 miles. 

There is no hotel in Matamoros. The places of interest 
are : The Government buildings, cathedral, theatre. Plaza 
mayor, the city walls, and the garden and zocalo at Santa 
Cruz Point. 

The climate is very hot in summer. In winter the 
thermometer occasionally sinks to the freezing-point. 

Communication with Brownsville is made by row-boats. 
A clialan, or flat-boat, is used for freight. 

Tlie Matamoros and Monterey Railroad is completed 
and in operation as far as San Miguel, a distance of 75 
miles. (See p. 157.) 

Count Telfener * expects to continue this railway along 
the coast to Tuxpan, and thence to the City of Mexico. 

* Count Telfener is an Italian. He is also a brother-in-law of Mr. John 
Mackay, of Nevada. 
15 



320 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

The distance by this route from Neio York to the Mexi- 
can capital will be no less than 600 miles shorter than by 
the Mexican Central, and 300 miles shorter than by the 
Mexican National Eailway. 

Leaving Matamoros, the line will trend southwesterly 
across a flat country via San Ferna^ido and Santander as far 
as the twenty-fourth parallel. At this point the track will 
be extended eastward to the port of Soto la Marina, which 
lies about midway between Tampico and Matamoros. The 
harbor of Soto la Marina is said to be navigable for large 
vessels up to a distance of half a mile from the shore. In 
this respect it is different from nearly all other Mexican 
ports, which have sand-bars at their entrance. 

Count Telfener is reported to have stated recently that 
he intends to concentrate his working force and materials 
at Soto la Marina, and construct the railway northward 
and southward from this point. Soto la Marina was, dur- 
ing the reign of the viceroys, a flourishing town, but it has 
since dwindled into an unimportant village. It is situated 
on the bank of the Corona Eiver, about 35 miles from the 
Gulf of Mexico. 

A few American merchants have established themselves 
here. Soto la Marina is celebrated in history as the spot 
where the unfortunate Emperor Iturbide landed in 1824. 

The main line will run almost due south from this port 
to Tampico,- via Cruces, Realito, Bejarano, Sanapa, and 
Aldama ; while a branch will be extended via Padilla^ to 
Victoria, the capital of the State of Tamaulipas, where it 
will connect with the Mexican Southern Eailroad. ( Vide 
Section VII.) The New York, Texas and Mexican Kail- 
road will also cross the eastern branch of the Mexican Cen- 

* Padilla is a dilapidated old Spanish settlement. It was on the plaza 
of this town that Iturbide, the first Emperor of Mexico, was shot in the au- 
tumn of 1824, in accordance with a decree of the National Congress. The 
population is about 1,500. 



NEW YORK, TEXAS AND MEXICAN RAILROAD. 321 

tral Railway at Tampico. (For description of Tampico, see 
p. 157.) 

Proceeding southward from this point, a bridge will 
probably be constructed across the Panuco Eiver, and 
thence the railway will run in a southeasterly direction to 




A Mexican Hacienda. 



the port of Tuxpan, about 125 miles distant. This division 
of the route passes through the northern part of the State 
of Vera Cruz, which is noted for valuable wells of petroleum 
and bitumen. ( F^(7e pp. 157, 158.) The region lying be- 
tween llatamoros and Tuxpan is fertile for the most part. 



322 CITIES AND ROUTES 01 TRAVEL. 

TamauUpas yields extensive crops of sugar-cane, barley, 
maize, wheat, cotton, rice, ixtle,'^ and tropical fruits. It 
also contains excellent grazing-lands. The mules raised 
in this State are said to be the best in Mexico. There is 
good farming-land in Northern Vera Cruz. Extensive 
forests, consisting of a great variety of woods, are found 
along the route. 

Leaving Tuxpan, the railroad will have a southwesterly 
course through the northern part of the State of Puehla 
and the southern portion of the State of Hidalgo, after 
which it will be continued to the District of Mexico. The 
last-named tract of country possesses valuable silver-mines. 
The famous ore deposits of PacJiiica and Regla, in the 
southern part of Hidalgo, are described on pages 196, 197. 
The maguey is planted very extensively in this region. 
The cereals, brown beans {frijoles), and potatoes are also 
grown. (Up to November 1, 1883, if our sources of infor- 
mation are correct, no rails have been laid on the road-bed 
of this railway, although it has been graded in several 
places. ) 

* Three million pounds of ixtle are produced annually. 



SECTION XIII. 
The Mexican International Eailroad. 

This line is being constructed under the so-called Hun- 
tington concession. Its northern terminus is at Piedras 
Negras, in the State of Coahuila. An iron bridge, which is 
930 feet long, crosses the Rio Orande at this point, and com- 
municates with Eagle Pass, Texas. Here connection is made 
by a branch line with the Galveston, Harrisburg and San 
Antonio Eailroad at Spofford Junction, 34 miles distant. 

Leaving Piedras Negras (elevation, 720 feet), the rail- 
way runs southerly to Monclova. The stations are Nava, 
25 miles ; Allende, 33 miles ; Sahinas, 73 miles ; Hermanas, 
125 miles ; and Monclova, 148 miles. There is an iron 
bridge over the Rio Salinas (elevation, 1,400 feet). The 
population of Monclova is about 3,000, and the elevation is 
2,030 feet. A wagon-road leads to Saltillo, 121 miles dis- 
tant. (Seep. 245.) 

From Monclova the railroad will trend southwesterly 
toward the *Maguna country," where the mean elevation 
is 4,000 feet. The line will pass within a few leagues of 
Parras and Sauceda. Connection will be made with the 
Mexican Central Railway in the vicinity of Lerdo. 

The greater part of the region traversed by the Mexican 
International Eailroad is fertile. The cereals, sugar-cane, 
and cotton are cultivated at various points. 

On February 1, 1885, about 160 miles of track had been 
laid, and it is expected that the road will be completed to 
Castano by the end of the current year. 



SECTION XIV. 

The Slnaloa and Durango Railroad. 

This line was begun in November, 1881. It will run 
from the port of Altaia, on the Pacific, to the City of 
Durango, via Culiacan and Cosald, a distance of about 325 
miles. (See p. 9.) 

A branch will be extended from Culiacan to Ma- 
zatlan. 

At present (February, 1885) the railway is completed 
from Altata to Culiacan, a distance of 38|- miles. 

The population of Altata is about 500. The town was 
destroyed by a cyclone on October 3, 1883. 

The stations are Guasimillas (7f miles), Bacliimeto (14 
miles), Limoncito (15|^ miles), Navalato (18 miles), Yeva- 
rito (22f miles), San Pedro (26yV miles), BicMhualto (32| 
miles), Flores (34 miles), Culiacan (38i miles). 

CULIACAN. 

Population, 10,000 ; elevation, 165 feet. 
Hotels. — Ferrocarril and Diligencias. 

A diligence runs to Cosald, 97 miles from Culiacan. 
The city of Durango lies about 130 miles east.* 

On February 1, 1885, there were in the Mexican Eepub- 
lic about 3,600 miles of completed railways. 

* Since the chapter on railroads was in type, the author has decided to 
devote a separate section to each of the four last-named railways, for con- 
venience in the preparation of future editions. 



THE SINALOA AND DURANGO RAILROAD. 325 

The concessions made to American capitalists to build 
railroads in Mexico amount to nearly 13,000 miles, as 
follows : 

National 2,000 

Central 2,000 

International (Huntington) and Southern Pacific (two 

concessions) 4,000 

Sonora 265 

New York, Texas and Mexican 500 

Southern 1,600 

Sinaloa 350 

Topolobampo 2,000 

12,715 




Scene on the Sonoro Biver. 



SECTION XV. 
Table of Distances (chiefly by Rail). 

Mi'oB, 

New York to Laredo, via St. Louis 2,18'7 

New York to Laredo, via New Orleans 2,400 

New York to Mexico City, via St. Louis and Laredo 3,007 

New York to El Paso, Texas, via St. Louis 2,456 

San Francisco to El Paso 1 ,286 

El Paso to Mexico City 1,224 

Laredo to Mexico City 820 

Corpus Christi to Mexico City 983 

Monterey to Acambaro 4*78 

Acambaro to Manzanillo 443 

Acambaro to Mexico City 1*72 

Vera Cruz to Mexico City 263 

Puebla to Mexico City (by rail) 115 

Queretaro to Mexico City 152 

San Luis Potosi to Mexico City 812 

Guanajuato to Mexico City 252 

Guadalajara to Mexico City, via Lagos 424 

Zacatecas to Mexico City ii40 

San Bias to Mexico City 661 

Durango to Mexico City 529 

Morelia to Mexico City 222 

Oaxaca to Mexico City 350 

Perote to Mexico City 237 

Acapulco to Mexico City, via Chilpancingo 290 

Minatitlan to Tehuantepec 135 

Benson to Guaymas = 353 



SECTION XVI. 

Guatemala. 

Prior to the year 1823, Guatemala and Mexico were 
ruled by the same government. Together, they formed 
the viceroyalty of New Sjjain. Hence the resemblance 
which, in many respects, the two republics bear to each 
other. Much that has been stated in Part First, concern- 
ing the climate, the history, language, literature, religion, 
education, jurisprudence, tariff, money, weights and meas- 
ures, immigration, agriculture, geology, zoology, botany, 
and the future needs of Mexico, is in general applicable to 
Guatemala. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

Area, 50,600 square miles. Populatiois", 1,200,000,* 
which is composed of mestizos, negi'oes, Indians, and whites. 
The last-named are about 12,000, of which perhaps 1,000 
are foreigners. 

Boundaries. — Guatemala is bounded on the north by 
Yucatan ; on the east by Balize, the Bay of Honduras, and 
the Republics of Honduras and San Salvador ; on the south 
by the Pacific Ocean ; and on the ^est by the Mexican State 
of Chiapas. 

The greatest length from north to south is 320 miles, 
and the greatest breadth is 280 miles. 

Mountains. — The larger part of the surface of Guate- 
mala consists of an elevated table-land, which is a continu- 

* In round numbers. 



328 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TBAVEL. 



ation of tlie plateau of Yucatan. It lias a mean altitude 
above the sea-level of 5,000 feet. 

The Sierra Madre, which is a prolongation of the Andes 
of South America, traverses the country from southeast to 
northwest, at a distance from the Pacific coast varying be- 
tween 30 and 50 miles. The mean height of the range is 
7,000 feet. The greatest altitude is in the western portion, 
which bears the local name of the Cuclmmatanes Mount- 




ains. The descent of the Sierra Madre on the southern 
side is abrupt, while on the northern side it is gradual 
until it subsides into the plain. 

The Cordillera is divided into four sections, viz. : 

The Sierra de las Minas ; 

The Sierra de Santa Cruz ; 

The Sierra de Ohamd ; and 

The Sierra del Merendon. 

1. The Sierra de las Minas is bounded on the north by 



GUATEMALA. 



329 




Naime of Mixco. 



the valley of the Rio PoIocJiic and the Lake of Izahal, and 
on the south by the Rio Motagua. The range is formed 
mostly of Igneous rocks. In the western portion it con- 
tains mines of some importance, whence it derires its name. 
2. The Sierra de Santa Cruz rises to the north of that of 



330 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 

the Minas, from whicli it is separated by the valley of the 
Rio FolocMc. 3. The Sierra de Chamd lies between the 
riyers Cahahon and Sarstun on the south, and the Rio 
Pasion on the north, ending in the Cochscomb Mountains 
of the territory of Balize. This range, as well as the last- 
named one, is composed of limestone. 

4. The Sierra, or Mountain of Merendon, forms the 
boundary between Guatemala and Honduras. It branches 
off from the main body of the Cordillera in the department 
of Chiquimula, where its various spurs receive separate and 
distinct names. 

A series of volcanoes, about twenty in number, ex- 
tends across the country. They are not found in the main 
Cordillera, but occur in the extremities of its southern 
branches. A line drawn from northwest to southeast passes 
through the principal ones, and may be called the volcanic 
axis of the Cordillera of Guatemala. These volcanoes are 
divided into three sections — the western, the central, and 
the eastern. The first section comprises the two extinct 
volcanoes of Tacand and Tajumulco, which are situated in 
the department of San Marcos. From the latter sulphur 
is mined. 

The central section contains several active volcanoes, 
beginning with the group of Quezaltenaiigo. The most 
important is the Cerro Quemado, which has an altitude of 
10,200 feet above the sea-level. The last eruption of this 
volcano occurred in 1785. This group is bounded on the 
south by the volcano of Santa Maria (elevation, 11,480 
feet). Going toward the southeast, one sees on the shores 
of the Lake oiAtitlan the volcano of San Pedro (elevation, 
8,200 feet), which is separated from that of AtifJan by an 
arm of this lake. Eruptions -from the latter volcano took 
place in 1828, 1833, and 1852. 

The next group is in the vicinity of Old Guatemala. 
To the southwest of this city lies the highest mountain in 



GUATEMALA. 



331 



Central America, the extinct volcano of Acatenango, which 
is 13,612 feet above the sea-level. To the north is another 
volcano which is less elevated. This group is bounded on 
the south by the Volcan de Fuego, 13,120 feet high. Its 




Volcan de Agua^ Old Guatemala. 

last eruption was in June, 1880. On the opposite side of 
the valley of Old Guatemala lies the Volcan de Agiia, which 
has an altitude of 12,286 feet. To the eastward of this 
volcano is the group comprising Pacaya (elevation, 7,680 
feet), which is separated from it by the valley of the Rio 
Michatoya. The last eruption took place in July, 1775. 
This system includes the two small extinct volcanoes called 
the Cerro Redondo, from the round conical figure of one of 
them. In the department of Santa Rom lies the only 
outlier of the Cordillera toward the south, the mountain 
of Santa Rosa, which is between the rivws Michatoya and 
Esclavos. The southern end of this mountain is formed 
by the volcano of Tecuamhurro. 

The eastern section of the volcanoes of Guatemala is 



332 



CITIES AND EOUTES OF TRAVEL. 



situated in the departments of Jutiajm and Cliiquimula. 
The northernmost member of this system is that of Ipala, 
whose height is 11,808 feet. To the southward lies the 
volcano of Monterico, which is somewhat smaller. In the 
same direction and beyond the Rio Ostua is the volcano of 
Santa Catarina, or SucMtan, in Jutiapa. 

The minor volcanoes of Ctdma and Amayo are situated 
on the south-southwest, beyond which is the mountain of 
Moyuta. 

The easternmost volcano of Guatemala is that of CliiJi- 
go, having an elevation of 6,560 feet. It is located near the 
frontier of San Salvador. As in Mexico, the country is 
divided into three zones, as follows : The tierra caliente, 




TJie Plaza, Quezaltenarvgo. 



between the sea-level and 1,300 feet ; the tierra templada, 
between 1,300 and 4,900 feet; the tierra fria, between 
4,900 and 8,200 feet. The Atlantic shore-line is very ir- 
regular in shape, while the Pacific coast is bordered with 



GUATEMALA. 333 

lagoons. The former measures 150 miles and the latter is 
260 miles in length. 

EiVERS. — The country abounds with brooks and streams, 
some of which are navigable. The chief rivers are, the 
Pasion, Usumaciiita, Chixoy, Negro, PolocMc, Motagua, 
Margarita, Maria Linda, Guacalate, Madre Vieja, Sama- 
la, Micliatoya, Paz, and Esdavos. 

Lakes. — The principal lakes are : Izahal, Pet en, Ama- 
titlan, Ayarza, Lacandon, Atittan, Cuitlan, Guija, and 
Itzan. Lake Izahal is the largest (area, 860 square miles). 
Peten ranks next (area, 160 square miles). The latter is 
well stocked with fish, and contains a species of alligator. 
The altitude above the sea-level of Lake Amatitlan is 3,890 
feet ; that of Lake Ayarza is 3,100 feet; and that of Lake 
Atitlan is 5,110 feet. 

Climate. — Excepting in the vicinity of the marshy 
lagoons along the Pacific coast, the climate is considered 
healthy. The rainy season lasts from May to October. 
The annual rainfall at the capital is computed at fifty-four 
inches. The rains are heaviest in the tierra temjilada. 

Springs. — Hot and cold springs are abundant in the 
country. Some of them contain sulphurous water. Im- 
portant saline springs occur in the departments of CJiiqui- 
mula and Santa Rosa. 

Poets. — The ports on the Atlantic shore are : 1. Izahal, 
on the south side of the lake of the same name. It lies in 
north latitude 15° 24', and longitude 89° 9' west of Green- 
wich. The Rio Dulce forms the outlet of the lake, and 
the bar at its mouth prevents the entrance of large vessels. 
2. Santo Tomds, on the southern end of the Bay of Ama- 
tiqiie, in the Gulf of Honduras. It is situated in north 
latitude 15° 38' 3", and longitude 88° 35' 6" west of Green- 
wich. It is one of the best ports in Central America, al- 
though insalubrious. It is the chief seaport of the eastern 
coast of the Eepublic. The depth of water in the harbor 



334 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



is six fathoms, and large ships caa anchor close to the 
shore. 3. Livingston, on the left bank of the Rio Dulce, 
near the mouth. It lies in north latitude 15° 48' and longi- 
tude 88° 46' west of Greenwich. This port was established 
in 1878, when the custom-house of Izabal was removed 
to it. 

The main ports on the Pacific coast are : San Jose, at 
the mouth of the Rio Michatoya, in the department of 
Escuintla, in north latitude 18° 56' and longitude 90° 42' 




General Vieio of the City of Quezaltenango. 

west of Greenwich ; and Champerico, in the department of 
SucJiitepequez, which lies in north latitude 14° 17' and 
longitude 91° 57' west of Greenwich. There are a few 
minor ports, such as San Geronimo, Tecojate, and San 
Luis, in the department of Escuintla, and Los Esdavos, 
in the department of Santa Rosa. 

Political Divisions. — The following table, from Fo- 
ledo, exhibits the twenty departments into which the Ee- 
public of Guatemala is divided, their estimated areas, their 
respective capitals, their population, and the population of 



GUATEMALA. 



335 



the capitals. Altogether, the Eepublic contains 10 cities, 
22 towns, 304 townships, and 1,794 hamlets, etc. : 



DEPARTMENT. 



Guatemala. . . . 
Sacatepequez . 
Aniatitlan .... 

Escuintla 

Cliimaltenango 

Solola 

Totouicapan.. . 

Quiche 

Quezaltenango. 
Suchitepcquez . 
Huehuetenango 
San Mai'cos. . . 

Peten 

Yerapaz 

Izabal 

Chiquimula . . . 

Zacapa 

Jalapa 

Jutiapa 

Santa Rosa . . . 

Total 



Area, square 
miles. 



voo 

250 

200 

1,950 

800 

700 

700 

1,300 

450 

'2,500 

4,550 

750 

13,200 

11,200 

1,500 

2,200 

4,400 

450 

1,700 

1,100 



50,600 



Population. 



100,000 
48,000 
88,000 
30,000 
60,000 
80,000 

114,000 
75,000 
94,000 
69,000 
90,000 

100,000 
14,000 

100,000 
3,400 
70,000 
28,000 
8,f.00 
38,000 
38,500 



Capitals, 



1,198,500 



Guatemala 

Antigua 

Amatitlan 

Escuintla 

Cliimaltenango 

Solola 

Totonicapan 

Santa Cruz del Quiche 

Quezaltenango 

Suchitepcquez 

Huehuetenango 

San M arcos 

riores 

Salama 

Izabal 

Chiquimula 

Zacapa. 

Jalapa 

Jutiapa 

Cuajiniquilapa 



Population. 



50,000 

15,000 

14,000 

10,000 

6,300 

15,000 

25,000 

0,300 

22,000 

11,500 

16,000 

12,600 

2,200 

8,000 

750 

12,000 

4,000 

4,000 

7,000 

5,000 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

In the year 1524 Guatemala was snbjngated by Pedro 
de Alvarado, who had been the trusted lieutenant of Cortes 
in the Con quest* of Mexico. In 1527 Charles V appointed 
a captain-general to govern the country. 

Simultaneously with the achievement of Mexican Inde- 
pendence, the people of Guatemala threw off the Spanish 
yoke, and annexed themselves to the so-called empire under 
Iturbide. Upon the fall of that usurj^er in 1823, Guate- 
mala became united to the Central American Federal Ee- 
public. Eight years later, Guatemala seceded from the 
remaining states and proclaimed itself an independent re- 
public. 

In 1871 a religious war broke out, which led to the ban- 



336 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



ishment of the arclibisliop and the suppression of the order 
of Jesuits. President Barrios, a man of enlightened and pro- 
gressive views, was elected to the chief magistracy on May 
9, 1873, and has continued to fill the office from that day to 
this. Since the revolution all religions have been tolerated. 




TJie National Institute, Guatemala. 

The public debt on January 1, 1882, was 17,139,169. 
The annual revenue amounts to $7,479,719, and the expen- 
ditures are slightly in excess of this sum. The largest ex- 
port trade is with the United States, and the largest import 
trade is with Great Britain. The main exports are coffee,* 
India-rubber, woolen cloths, hides, sugar, specie, timber, 
cochineal, cocoa, sarsaparilla, and fruit. In 1883 the ex- 
ports of Guatemala amounted to 13,719,210, and the value 
of the imports was 12,254,574. 

During 1882 the entry of vessels in the three principal 
ports was as follows : San Jose, 67 steamers, 25 sailing-ves- 
sels ; Champerico, 50 steamers, 14 sailing-vessels ; Living- 
ston, 41 steamers, 13 sailing-vessels. 

* About $4,000,000 worth of coffee is grown annually. 



GUATEMALA. 



537 



On January 1, 1883, there were in the Republic 811 
primary schools, in which 37,469 children were taught by 
972 instructors, at a cost of 1283,000. Evening- schools for 
mechanics and working-women have also been established. 
There is a governmental School of Arts and Trades, num- 
bering 15 professors and 150 scholars. 

The Government is now encouraging immigration. 

The mineral deposits of the country consist of gold, 
silver, iron, coj^per, lead, antimony, zinc, coal, gypsum, and 
marble. Most of the mineral wealth is found in the de- 
partment of Chiquimula, where the far-famed Olotepeque 
mines are still worked. The department of Izabal contains 
auriferous gravel-beds and veins of bituminous coal. The 
latter are found near the volcano of San Gil. 




The Government Building^ Quezaltenango. 



The vegetable resources may be briefly described as fol- 
lows : A large portion of the Republic is covered with dense 
forests ; valuable woods, like ebony, logwood, walnut. In- 
dia-rubber, and mahogany, abound. There are many medi- 
cinal plants, among which may be mentioned jalaj), ipecac. 



338 CITIES AND ROUTES OF TEAVEL. 

sassafras, and sarsaparilla. Various kinds of gums, resins, 
and balsams are also found. The cereals, Indian corn, 
cotton, vanilla, sugar-cane, rice, and all tropical fruits grow 
in the country. 

Cattle are raised to a considerable extent. The native 
dialects are the CahcJiiquel, Quiche, and Maya. Some im- 
portant ruins are found at Quirigua. The United States 
and Great Britain have ministers resident at New Guate- 
mala. American consuls, or consular agents, reside at the 
capital, and at the ports of Champerico, San Jose, and Iza- 
lal. A transcontinental railway is projected by the Gov- 
ernment from Neio Guatemala to Livingston, a distance of 
two hundred and fifty miles. The line will cost about 
$12,000,000. It is said that the work of construction will 
be begun in the spring of 1886. There are about 4,000 
miles of telegraph in Guatemala. 

EOUTES AKD CITIES. 

Route I. 

1. From ToNALA, Mexico, to San Jose de Guatemala,. 221 miles. 

Leaving Tonald, the Pacific Mail steamers touch at San 
Benito (102 miles) and Cliamperico (145 miles), ( Champerico 
Hotel). A Californian corporation has recently constructed 
a railway from the last-named port to Retalhuleu, a dis- 
tance of 30 miles. Retalhuleu is the capital of the depart- 
ment of the same name, and has a population of 5,000. 
There are two hotels here. There is no harbor at Cham- 
perico, but a substantial iron pier has been erected to facili- 
tate the landing of passengers and cargo. 

Leaving Champerico, the steamer proceeds to San Jose 
de Guatemala, 76 miles distant {Hotel, San Jose). An 
American consul resides at the latter town. This port is 
an open roadstead, and has a pier similar to that of Cham- 
perico. 



GUATEMALA. 339 



Route II. 

2. From San Jose to Xew Guatemala, 72 miles. Fares, first class, $6 ; 
second class, |3. Two trains daily. 

The Guatemala Central Railroad Company has constructed a narrow- 
gauge (3 feet) line from San Jose to Escuintla (28'5 miles), which, on June 
19, 1880, was opened for traffic. 

In 1882 the Central American Pacific Railway and Transportation Com- 
pany purchased a controlling interest in the above-named company, as well 
as a concession for the extension of the line from Escuintla to the City of 
Chiatcmala. The latter road was opened for business on August 30, 1884. 
The stations on the two lines are : San Jose, Naranjo, Masagua, Mauricio, 
Escuintla, Palin, Amatitlan, Petapa, Guatemala. 

There are eight barrancas, or ravines, which are crossed by bridges. 
The maximum grade is 4i per cent. 

Between Escuintla and Palin, a distance of 13 miles, the road-bed rises 
about 2,558 feet. This section of the line traverses rich coffee and sugar 
plantations. 

It is now proposed to consolidate the property of the two above-men- 
tioned companies. A branch line is projected from Amatitlan to Antiffiia 
{Old Guatemala). 

GUATEMALA. 

Population, 60,000 in 1885 ; elevation, 4,775 feet. 

Hotels. — Del Globe, Gran Hotel, Aleman, Bel Teatro. 

Baths. — Granja del Cipres, El Adminisirador, Matamoros, and El 
Zapote. 

Banes. — International and Colombiano. 

Carriages, two horses, $2 an hour ; one horse, $1 an hour. 

Diligences. — To Chiquimula, 50 miles; to Ckimaltenango, 31 miles; 
and to Antigua, 21 miles. 

Newspapers, — Six are published in the Spanish language. 

The City of Guatemala is the capital of the Eepublic. 
It is situated in north latitude 14'' 37' 32", and longitude 
90° 30' 47" west of Greenwich. In 1776 it was founded 
on the northern end of a broad plain. The streets are 
straight and cross each other at right angles, but they are 
badly paved. Owing to the frequency of earthquakes, the 



34:0 



CITIES AND ROUTES OF TRAVEL. 



houses are of one story. The patios are usually ornamented 
with statuary or with shrubs and flowers. 

The city has several squares. The largest, a rectangle, 
625 feet long by 535 feet wide, has on the east side the 
cathedral and the archiepiscopal palace, on the west the 
Governor's palace, ministerial offices, etc., with the mint 
in the rear ; on the north the City Hall ; and on the south 
a line of shops. In the center is a fountain and basin for- 
merly surmounted by an equestrian statue of Charles IV, the 
horse of which alone remains. A large part of this plaza is 
occupied by rows of miserable little huts, in which pottery, 
iron utensils, a^j/a^^e-thread, and other small wares are sold. 
The rent of these forms a part of the municipal revenue. 

In the center of another square is the theatre, equal in 
size and elegance to any in Spanish America. Eows of 




The National Theatre^ Guatemala. 



orange, oleander, and other trees of brilliant flowers and 
grateful fragrance surround the building, while a profu- 
sion of statues, fountains, etc., placed at intervals through- 
out the square, enhances the beauty of this fashionable even- 
ing promenade. 



GUATEMALA. 



341 



Foremost among the public buildings is the cathedral, 
built in 1780, of simple and elegant design, and occupying 
a space of 450 feet square. In the decoration of the inte- 
rior, a chaste variety is observed. There are sculptures in 
wood, and some fine paintings by native artists. There are 




The tkdiudrai, (juattmala. 

twenty-four other churches, a hospital, a university, a med- 
ical school, and a prison. Guatemala has the largest num- 
ber of educational institutions of any city in Central Amer- 
ica. Many of the wealthy people of other States send their 
children here for instruction. 

The capital can boast of an excellent police force, at the 
head of which is a former member of the municipal police 
of New York City, the uniform in both places being the 
same. There are twenty-five public reservoirs and many 
fountains. The water is brought to the city by two aque- 
ducts, which cost $2,000,000. 

The climate of the capital is mild though changeable. 
April and May are the hottest months. The mean tern- 



342 



CITIES AND ROUTES 01 TRAVEL, 



perature of the year is 65° Falir., tlie maximum being 87° 
and the minimum 41° Fahr. 

OLD GUATEMALA {la Antiguo) . 

Population, 20,000 in 1883. 

The city lies in latitude 14° 34' 58" north, and longi- 
tude 90° 44' 5" west of Greenwich. It was founded in 1524 




The Plaza.) Old Guatemala. 

by Pedro de Alvarado. In 1541 it was destroyed by a flood 
of water from the adjacent Volcan de Agua, near the foot 
of which the ruins of the ancient capital are extant. The 
remains are now known as the Ciudad Vieja; i. e., Old City. 
The city was soon afterward rebuilt on a spot a mile 
distant from the original site, and between the volcanoes 



GUATEMALA. 



343 



de Agua and de Fuego. These mountains lie about twenty 
miles apart. 

In 1773 the city was almost razed by earthquakes. Sev- 
eral years later it was founded anew in the Valle de las 
Vacas, 25 miles distant from the Ciudad Vieja, and the 
capital was transferred to New Guatemala. The modern 
city is embellished with numerous gardens. Several of the 
ancient edifices have been repaired, and the beholder is 
impressed with their former grandeur and solidity. 

A small stream, the Pensativo Eiver, runs near the city. 

There are several schools, and one or two newspapers 
are published, in old Guatemala. 

Coffee, sugar-cane, cactus, the cereals, and fruits grow 
in the environs. 

The author wishes to record his grateful sense of obligation to Seiior 
Don Antonio Batres, the present Minister of Guatemala to the United States, 
for the courtesy with which he has responded to his numerous requests 
for information regarding the condition and prospects of that Republic. 



■ 1 




'^^ 


^nn 


■^rr-f-rrt ^ 


-^■r—t 




S ■ 


1 ' 


1„ 

3_j 


Sfcl' 


ill f 




ir, 



The Penitentiary, Quezaltenanao. 



APPEl^DIX. 



Language. 

The Spanish language, i. e., Castellano, is spoken 
throughout the Eepublic of Mexico. Some of the Indians 
talk Spanish, but the greater part of them have never been 
willing to give up the speech of their ancestors. The 
Mexican or Aztec dialect is spoken by a larger number of 
persons than any other native tongue. 

The other languages are the Opata, Sobaipure, Tarahu- 
mar, Cohita or Sinaloa, Zacateco, Acaxec or Topia, Co- 
manche, Texano or Coahuilteco, Tarasco, Mixe, Totonaco, 
Mixteco, Zapoteco, Popoloco, Mazateco, Solteco, Chinanteco, 
Pirinda or Matlalzinca, Yucateco or Maya, Lacandon, Hu- 
axteco, Chiapaneco, Apache, Othomi or Hiahiu, Mazahua. 

There is some difference between the Spanish of Castile 
and that of Mexico in the use of adjectives and nouns. 
There is also a slight difference in pronunciation in the 
two countries, e. g., the "11" is pronounced like *'y " in 
the word "year" in Mexico, instead of having the jjalatal 
sound. The "z" is pronounced like "s," instead of 
having the lisped sound of "th" in "thief." The gut- 
tural pronunciation of the jota (j) is not as strongly marked 
as in Spain, and the "d" is not sounded in the middle 
of a word. There are twenty-seven letters in the Spanish 
alphabet, every one of which is pronounced, except "h," 
which is always silent. 



34:6 APPENDIX. 

The vowels are pronounced as follows 
a, like a in father. 



e, 


a 


a 


" mate. 


i. 


a 


e 


" me. 


0, 


(C 





" go. 


u, 


a 


00 


" boot. 


y. 


a 


y 


" liberty. 



2/ is a vowel when it stands by itself, or at the end of a 
word, or of a syllable immediately followed by a consonant. 
The consonants are pronounced as follows : 
b, like b In baby (b is often erroneously sounded like v). 



c,*" 


th in theft. 


ch, " 


ch in chess. 


d, - 


d in day and fed. 


f, - 


f in effect. 


g, " 


h in ham, he. 


h, - 


h silent in heir. 


% " 


h strongly aspirated in home. 


1, " 


1 in labial, elect. 


11, - 


11 in brilliant. 


m, - 


m in amen. 


n, " 


n in energy, no. 


n, - 


n (somewhat nasal) in onion. 


P. " 


p in paper. 


q, " 


q in piquet, quint. 


r, - 


r soft in erect. 


r, - 


r or rr (very harsh) in horror. 


s, " 


ss in senseless. 


t, '' 


t in tent. 


V, " 


V in velvet. 


X, " 


X (cs) in maxim. 


y softer than g or j in gentry, Jet. 


z like th, lisped z, in thermal. 


* C, bef 01 


;e «, 0, T<, Z, r, and when it is at the end of a syllable, sounds 


like k in English. 



LANGUAGE. 



347 



In simple words, e, i, c, r, are the only letters that can 
be written double. In compound words, all the vowels, and 
also n and s, are written double whenever any of them are 
the last of the component, and the first of the word to be 
compounded. 

The following words and phrases will be found useful : 





VEEBS. 








^ . Infinitive. 
To have. 




To he. 




Haber. 


Tener.* ( 


3er. 




Estar. 


Having. ^^^'^''• 
Habiendo. Teniendo. 


Siendo 


Being. 


Estando. 


Had. 


PAST PAETICIPLE. 


Been. 




Habido. 


Tenido. 


Sido. 




Estado. 




Indicative Mood. 






/ have. 


PRESENT TENSE. 


I am. 




1. He. 


Tengo. 


Soy. 




Estoy, 


2. Has. 


Tienes. 


Eres. 




Estas. 


3. Ha. 


Tiene. 


Es, 




Esta. 


2. V. ha. 


V. tiene. 


V. es. 




V. esta. 


1. Hemos. 


Tenemos. 


Somos. 




Estamos. 


2. Habeis. 


Teneis. 


Sois. 




Estais. 


3. Han. 


Tienen. 


Son. 




Estan. 


2. VV. ban. 


VV. tienen. 


VV. son. 


VV. estan. 


I had. 


IMPERFECT TENSE. 


I was. 


1. Habia. 


Tenia. 


Era. 




Estaba. 


2. Habias. 


Tenias. 


Eras. 




Estabas. 


3. Habia. 


Tenia. 


Era. 




Estaba. 


2. V. habia. 


V. tenia. 


V. era 




V. estaba. 


1. Habiamos. 


Teniamos. 


firainos. 


Estabamos. 


2. Habiais. 


Teniais. 


Erais. 




Estabais. 


3. Habian. 


Tenian. 


Eran. 




Estaban. 



2. VV. habian. VV. tenian. 



VV. eran. VV. estaban. 



Tener means " to have " in the possessive sense. 



t8 


^PP^iVZ>7X 




FUTUEE 


TENSE. 




I shall have. 


I shall le. 


1. 


Habre. Tendre. 


Ser6. Estar6. 


2. 


Habras. Tendras. 


Seras. Estaras. 


3. 


Habra. Tendra. 


Sera. Estara. 


2. 


V. habra. V. tendra. 


V. sera. V. estara. 


1. 


Habremos. Tendremos. 


Seremos. Estar6mos. 


2. 


Habr6is. Tendreis. 


Ser6is. Estareis. 


3. 


Habran. Tendran. 


Seran. Estaran. 


2. 


YV. babran. W. tendran. 


VV. seran. W. estaran. 



Masculine Singular. 
Feminine " 



Masculine Singular. 
Feminine " 



AETICLES. 
Indefinite Article. 
A or an, TJn. Plural. Some, Unos or algunos. 
" " Una. " Some, Unas or algunas. 



Definite Article. 
The, El. Plural. 

" La. 



The, Los. 
The, Las. 



PKONOTJIS'S. 

The personal pronouns are : Singular. — I, yo ; thou, tu ; you 
(your honor or worship), usted ; he, el; she, ella ; it, el, ella, ello 
or lo. Plural. — "We, nosotros or nosotras ; you, vosofros, vosotras, 
or vos; you (your honors or worships), ustedes ; they, ellos, ellas. 

Possessive Pronouns. 



Singular. 


Plural. 


My, 


mi. 




mis. 


Thy, 


tu. 




tus. 


His, 


su or 


de61. 


sus or de ellos. 


Her, 


su or 


de ella. 


sus or de ellas. 






Singular. 


Plural. 






■ su or de el. 


sus or de ellos. 


T+a 




su or de ella. 


sus or de ellas. 


Its, 




su or de ellos. 
. su or de ellas. 


sus or de ellos. 






sus or de ellas. 


Mine, 




mio, mios, mia, 


mias. 


Thine, 




tuyo, tuyos, tuya, tuyas. 



LANGUAGE. 



349 



r suyo, suyos, suja, suyas. 
His, her, its, I el suyo, los suyos, la suya, las suyas. 
theirs. 1 el de el, los de 61, el de ell a, los de ella. 

L los or las de el, etc. 
Our, ours, nuestro, nuestros, nuestra, nuestras. 

Ivuestro, vuestros, vuestra, vuestras. 
de listed or de Ustedes. 
el, los, la, las de V. or de VV. 
suyo, suyos, suya, suyas. 

Relative Pronouns. 

Quien, in the plural quienes or quien, who, which, that. 

Que, who, which, what, that. 

Cual, in the plural cuales, who, which. 

Cui/o, whose, which. 

Cualquiera, in the j)\uva\ cualesq^iiera, whoever, whichever, whatever. 

Quienquiera, whoever, whichever. 

Demonstrative Pronouns. 





Sing. Plur. 


Sing. Plur. 


Sing. Plur. 




This. These. 


Tliat. Those. 


That. Those. 


Masculine. 


Este. Estos. 


Ese. Esos. 


Aquel. Aquellos. 


Feminine. 


Esta. Estas. 


Esa. Esas. 


Aquella. Aquellas. 






Days. 




Sunday, 


Domingo. 


A holiday. 


dia de fiesta. 


Monday, 


Liines. 


Fast-day, 


dia de ayuno. 


Tuesday, 


Miirtes. 


Once a day. 


una vez al dia. 


Wednesday, 


Mi^rcoles. 


Each day. 


cada dia. 


Thursday, 


Jueves. 


To-day, 


hoy. 


Friday, 


Viernes. 


To-morrow, 


manana. 


Saturday, 


Sabado. 


Yesterday, 
Months. 


ayer. 


Enero. 


Abril. 


Julio. 


Octubre. 


Febrero. 


Mayo. 


Agosto. 


Noviembre. 


Marzo. 


Junio. 


Setiembre. 


Diciembre. 



350 



APPENDIX. 



A 


year, un afio. 


A 


century, un siglo. 


A fortnight, una quincena. 


A 


week, una semana. 




NUMBEES. 


1, uno. 


12, doce. 80, treinta. 


2, dos. 


13, trece. 40, cuarenta. 


8, tres. 


14, catorce. 50, cincuenta. 


4, cuatro. 


15, quince. 60, sesenta. 


5, cinco. 


16, diez y seis. TO, setenta. 


6, seis. 


17, diez y siete. 80, ochenta. 


7, siete. 


18, diez y ocho. 90, noventa. 


8, ocbo. 


19, diez y nueve. 100, ciento. 


9, nueve. 


20, veinte. 1,000, mil. 


10, diez. 


21, veinte y iino, or 1,000,000, un millon. 


11, once. 


veintiuno. 




Feactions {las fracciones). 


Half, 


la mitad. 


Third, 


el tercio, la tercera parte. 


Quarter, 


fourth, el cuarto, la cuarta parte, etc. 


Double, 


el doble. 


Treble, 


el triple. 


First, 


el primero. 


Second, 


el segundo. 




The Seasons {las estaeiones). 


Spring, la primavera. Mud, el barro, lodo. 


Summer, el verano or estio. Dust, el polvo. 


Autumn, el otono. Thunder, el trueno. 


"Winter, el invierno. Lightning, el relampago. 


Cold, el frio 


Storm, la tempestad. 


Heat, el calor. It is going to rain, va a Hover. 


Eain, la lluvia. How cold it is, qu6 frio hace. 


Snow, la nieve. Too hot, demasiado calor. 


Dry, seco. 


How warm, qu6 calor. 




Teaveling by Eailwat. 


To travel. 


viajar. 


A railway, 


un ferrocarril. 



LANGUAGE. 



351 



A train, 

By the raihvay-omnibus, 

The luggage, 

How many parcels? 

A baggage-receipt. 

Ticket or booking-office, 

I want a ticket. 

First-class, 

Second-class, 

Third-class, 

How is this station called? 

How long does the train stop 

here ? 
A first-class carriage, 
A refreshment-room. 
To start, 
To arrive, 
A porter. 
Do we change carriages here? 



un tren. 

por el omnibus del ferrocarril. 

el equipage. 

cuantos bultos ? 

un talon del equipage. 

un despacho de boletas. 

quiero una boleta. 

primera clase. 

segunda clase. 

tercera clase. 

como se llama esta estacion ? 

cuanto tiempo se detiene aqui el 

tren? 
un coche de primera clase. 
una f onda. 
marchar, salir. 
llegar. 
un portero. 
se cambia aqui de coche (or de tren)? 



The Steamboat {el vapor). 

To «mbark, embarcarse. 

To land, desembarcar, ir a tierra. 

A boat, una lancha. 

A berth, . un camarote. 

The deck, el puente. 

Sea-sickness, el mareo. 



The Istn {la fonda). 



The rooms, 

A floor. 

Abed, 

Are the sheets dry ? 

Clean, 

To clean, 

To brush the clothes. 

House-maid, 

Lady's-maid, 

Valet-de-chambre, 



los cuartos. 

unpiso, principal, segundo, bajo, etc. 

una cama. 

estan secas las sabanas ? 

limpio. 

limpiar. 

acepillar la ropa. 

criada. 

doncella. 

ayuda de camara. 



352 



APPENDIX. 



Landlord, 

The bill, 

How much ? 

Bring the breakfast, 

A clean towel, 

To clean the shoes, 

A glass, 

Hot water, 

Boiling water, 

Wash-hand basin, 

A bottle of drinking water, 

Chair, 

Arm-chair, 

A sofa, 

A sitting-room, 

To call one up, 

To rise early. 

To light the fire, 

A chimney, 

A night-light, 

Oil, 

Waiter, 

Soap, 

W. C, 

Urinal, 

Office, 

I want a room, 

With two beds, 

Room on the street, 

Inside room, 

Bill, 

How much daily ? 

Shut the door, 

Call my maid. 

Bathing-house, 



el amo, el fondista. 

la cuenta. 

cuanto ? 

traiga V. el almuerzo. 

una toalla limpia. 

limpiar el calzado. 

un vaso. 

agua caliente. 

agua hirviendo. 

la jofaina (lavamanos). 

una boteUa de agua para beber. 

la silla. 

la butaca, el sillon. 

un sofa. 

una sala. 

despertar. 

madrugar. 

encender fuego. 

una chimenea. 

una lamparilla. 

el aceite. 

mozo. 

el jabon. 

el escusado or comun. 

el meadero. 

el despacho. 

quiero un cuarto. 

con dos camas. 

cuarto con vista a la calle. 

cuarto interior. 

cuenta. 

cuanto vale diario ? 

cierre Y. la puerta. 

llame V. a mi doncella. 

casa de banos. 



DiNNEE {la comidd). 

Give us some dinner, demos Y. de comer. 

Dinner is ready, esta lista la comida. 



LANGUAGE. 



353 



Beef, 

Boiled meat, 

Salt meat, 

Roast, 

Beer, 

Bottle, 

Biscuit, 

Bacon, 

Brandy, 

Bread (plain), 

Butter, 

Cheese, 

Chicken, 

Chop, 

A candle, 

Claret, 

To carve, 

Coffee, 

Chocolate, 

A cup of chocolate, 

A cup, 

The dining-room, 

A dish. 

Table cVhote, 

Where is my cover ? 

An egg, 

A fresh Qg^^ 

A fish, 

A fork. 

Grapes, 

Hare, 

Ham, 

A knife, 

Lamb, 

A lamp, 

A lemon, 

Liquor, 

Lettuce, 

Meat, 



came de vaca. 

carne cocida. 

carne salada. 

asado. 

la cerveza. 

La botella. 

el bizcocho. 

el tocino. 

cognac. 

pan. 

la mantequilla. 

el queso. 

un polio. 

una costilla. 

una vela. 

vino tinto. 

trinchar. 

el cafe. 

el chocolate. 

una jicara de chocolate. 

una taza. 

el comedor. 

un plato. 

mesa redonda. 

donde esta mi cubierta. 

un huevo, tm blanquillo, 

un huevo fresco. 

un pescado. 

un tenedor. 

lavas. 

la liebre. 

el jamon. 

un cuehillo. 

el cordero. 

una lampara. 

un limon. 

el licor. 

la lechuga. 

la carne. 



854 



APPENDIX. 



Cold meat, 

Milk, 

Hot milk. 

Goat's milk, 

Mutton, 

An omelet, 

Oysters, 

Pastry, 

A cake, 

Peach, 

Potatoes, 

A plate, 

A large dish, 

A rabbit, 

A salad. 

To serve, 

A spoon, 

A tea-spoon, 

A napkin, 

Sweet, 

Sonr, 

Sugar, 

Molasses, 

Supper — to sup, 

A tumbler, 

A pitch er^ 

A wine-glass, 

Veal, 

Vegetables, 

Vinegar, 

Water, 

"Wine, 



carne fria. 

la leche. 

leche caliente. 

leche de cabra. 

el cai'nero. 

una tortilla de huevoSo 

ostiones. 

pasteleria. 

un boUo. 

abridor, durazno. 

las patatas, papas. 

uu plato. 

una fuente. 

un conejo. 

una ensalada. 

servir. 

una cuchara. 

una cucharita. 

una servilleta. 

dulce. 

agrio. 

el aziicar. 

piloncillo, panocha. 

la cena — cenar. 

un vaso. 

un jarro. 

una copa. 

la tern era. 

los legumbres. 

el vinagre. 

el agua. 

el vino. 



The Post-Offioe {el correo^ casa de correoi)^ 

The office, la estafeta. 

A letter, una carta. 

A single letter, una carta sencilla. 

A stamp, una estampilla. 

An envelope, una cubierta. 



LANGUAGE. 



355 



Paper, 

A sheet of paper, 

A quire of paper, 

Blotting-paper, 

Ai-e there letters for me ? 

Here is my name, 

"Where is the list ? 

Is the office closed ? 

Is it too heavy ? 

Must this letter be prepaid ? 

The postman^ 

The Custom- 

An employe. 

Is the baggage examined here \ 

Clothes, 

Worn, 

For my own use, 

The tariff, 

The duties. 

What must I pay ? 

Contraband, 

Shut the trunks, 

The keys, 

A carpet-bag, 

A box, 

A hat-box. 

To search. 



el papel. 

un pliego de papel. 

un mano de papel. 

la teleta. 

hay cartas para mi ? 

este es mi apellido. 

donde esta la lista ? 

esta cerrado el despacho ? 

hay esceso de peso ? 

hay que franquear esta carta i 

el cartero. 

House (la aduana). 

un empleado. 

se registra aqui el equipage ? 

la ropa. 

usada. 

para mi uso personal. 

el arancel. 

los derechos, 

cuanto hay que pagar ? 

el contrabando. 

cierre V. los baules. 

las Haves. 

un saco de noche. 

un haul, una caja. 

una sombrerera. 

visitar, registrar. 



Diligence, Posting, Eiding. 

Stable, la cuadra. 

Horses and mules, caballerias. 

Post-house, la parada, la posta. 

Post-boy, el postilion, delantero. 

Driver, el cochero. 

What is the name of this village ? como se llama este pueblo? 

Are we far ? estamos lejos ? 

We are near, estamos cerca. 

The drag, la plancha. 



356 



APPENDIX. 



A wheel, 

The pole, 

A team of mnles, 

A saddle, 

Stirrups, 

A whip, 

Stop, 

To stop. 

To post. 

When shall we get to 

A bridle. 

Forward, 



Lettek-Weiting 



A pen, 

A steel pen, 

Direction, 

Note-paper, 

Envelopes, 

Sealing-wax, 

A wafer. 

To put into the P. 0., 

A letter-box, 

Take this to the P. O., 

A Cab 

Drive me to — street, No. 

Are you engaged ? 

By the hour, 

Stop here. 

Go farther, 

Go back, 

Go fast, 

Go slower, 

What is the fare ? 

It is too much, 

I shall not pay more, 

Not engaged, i. e., to let 

Coachman, 



una rueda. 

la lanza. 

un tiro de mulas. 

una silla. 

los estribos. 

un latigo, una cuarta. 

pare V. : alto. 

parar. 

correr la posta. 

cuando llegaremos a ? 

una brida. 
adelante. 

{para escrihir una carta). 

una pluma. 

una pluma de acero. 

sobrescrito, sellas. 

papel de cartas. 

los sobres. 

el lacre. 

una oblea. 

echar una carta en el correo. 

un buzon, 

lleve Y. esta carta al correo. 



(un cocTie de alqiiiler). 

— , vayaustedalacalle — , nurnero- 
eata V. ocupado ? 
por hora. 
pare Y. aqui. 
vaya Y. mas lejos. 
vuelva Y. 
vaya Y. de prisa. 
vaya Y. mas despacio. 
cuanto ? 
es demasiado. 
no pagar6 mas. 
se alquila. 
el cochero. 



LANGUAGE. 



357 



In a 

Where is ? 

The theater, 
The bank, 
Cab-stand, 
The museum. 
The garden. 
The public walk, 
The palace, 
The magistrate, 
The mayor, 

Which is the way to 

Turn to the right, 

Turn to the left, 

A policeman, 

A street, 

A square, 

I wish to see, 

I do not understand, 

I do not speak Spanish, 

I am an American, 

I am an Englishman, 



The washerwoman. 

An apron, 

A cap, 

A collar, 

Cotton, 

A crinoline, 

A cravat. 

Dirty linen. 

Drawers, 

A dressing-gown. 

An under-petticoat, 

An upper-petticoat, 

A flannel waistcoat, 

A napkin, 

A night-shirt. 



Town {en una ciudad). 

donde estd ? 

el teatro. 

el banco. 

la parada de coches de alquiler. 

el museo. 

el jardin. 

el pasco. 

el palacio. 

el magistrado. 

el alcalde. 
-? por donde se va d ? 

vuelva V. ii la derecha. 

vuelva V. a la izquierda. 

un agente de policia. 

una calle. 

una plaza. 

deseo ver, visitar. 

no comprendo. 

no hablo Espafiol. 

soy Americano. 

soy Ingles. 

The Washing (lavadura). 
la lavandera. 
un delantal. 
una gorra. 
un cuello. 
el algodon. 



un miriuaque. 

una corbata. 

ropa sucia. 

los calzoncillos. 

una bata. 

una enagua. 

un guardapi^s. 

un chaleco interior de flanela. 

una toalla. 

una camisa de dormir. 



358 



APPENDIX. 



A handkerchief, 

Sheets, 

Shirt, 

Stays, 

Stockings, 

Washing, 

Washing-bill, 

Let us count, 



un panuelo. 

las sabanas. 

la camisa. 

el corse, la faja. 

los calcetines, las medias (if long). 

lavadura. 

la cuenta de la ropa limpia. 

contemos. 



Bring the clean linen immediately, traiga Vd. la ropa blanca ahora. 
The stains, las manchas. 

Starch, el almidon. 

To iron, planchar. 



VOCABULAET. 



About, 

Above (beyond), 

Above (or upward). 

Abroad, 

Accoi'dingly, 

According to. 

Advance, in. 

Afoot, on foot, 

Afraid, to be, 

Ago, long ago. 

All, everybody. 

All the better. 

Ambassador, 

Apartment, 

Appears, it, 

Apple, 

Apricot, 

As for, as to, 

Ascend, to, 

Ashore, 

Ask, to. 

As much. 

Asparagus, 



sobre, cerca. 

encima de, mas de. 

arriba, 

fuera, fuera de su casa. 

en conformidad. 

segun. 

por adelantado. 

a pie. 

tener miedo. 

pasado, hace mucho tiempo. 

todo, todo el mundo. 

tanto mejor. 

embajador. 

habitacion, cuarto. 

parece. 

manzana. 

chabacano. 

en cuanto d. 

subir. 

por a tierra, en el suelo. 

pedir. 

tanto. 

esparrago. 



LANGUAGE. 



359 



Assembly-room, 

As soon as, 

As though, 

Auction, 

Auction- room, 

Auctioneer, 

Away, 

Back-door, 

Bag, carpet-bag, 

Bakery, 

Ball, 

Ball (billiard), 

Banana, 

Bandbox, 

Bank-book, 

Bank-note, 

Bank post-bill, 

Bank, 

Branch-bank, 

Bank (joint-stock), 

Bank (savings), 

Banker, 

Barber, 

Bargain, 

Bargain, to make a 

buy cheaply. 
Barley, 
Basket, 
Bath, 

Bath-keeper, 
Bath (warm), 
Bath (tepid), 
Bath (shower), 
Bathing room, 
Bathing establishment. 
Bathing- di'ess or gown. 
Beans, 
Bedstead, 
Bed-clothes, 



sala de reunion, 
desde que. 
como si. 
almoneda. 
sala de ventas. 
vendutero. 

adelante, lejos de aqui. 
puerta de detras. 

saco, saco de noche, saco de viaje, 
panaderia. [6 maleta. 

baile, 
bola. 
platan o. 
sombrerera. 
libro de banco, 
billete de banco, 
mandato a orden del banco, 
banco. 

sucursal (del banco), 
banco por acciones. 
banco de ahorros. 
banquero. 
barbero. 
ganga, contrato. 
or to hacer una buena compra ; 6 com- 
prar alguna cosa a buen precio. 
cebada. 

cesta; tenate; canasta, 
bano. 
banista. 
bano caliente. 
bano tibio. 

bano de asiento ducado. 
sala de bafios. 
casa de banos. 
peinador. 
habas. 

armadura de la cama. 
mantas, sabanas. 



360 



APPENDIX. 



Bed-chamber or bed-room, 

Bed-time, 

Beef, 

Beef-steak, 

Beer, 

Begone, 

Behold, look. 

Bellows, 

Bell-pull or bell-rope, 

Below or down-stairs. 

Best, for the ; at best, 

Betimes, early, 

Better, I bad, 

Better and better. 

Better for tbe, 

Beyond (pointing). 

Beyond that bouse, 

Bill-broker, 

Billiard-room, 

Bill; bill of fare, 

Bird, 

Biscuit, 

Black, 

Blacksmith, 

Blanket, 

Blind, 

Blue, 

Board (living). 

Boarder (at a boarding-bouse), 

Boarding-bouse or school; family 

Bolster, [boarding-house. 

Book-binder, 

Bootmaker, 

Boots, men's ; women's, 

Boot-jack, 

Bottle; half-bottle, 

Box, 

Brandy, 

Brass, 



cuarto por dormir, 6 dormitorio. 

la bora de acostarse. 

buey, res. 

bifteck. 

cerveza. 

vayase V. 

mire V. be aqui. 

fuelle. 

cordon de campanilla. 

abajo. 

per lo major ; la raejor. 

temprano. 

hare mejor. 

mejor y mejor. 

mejor. 

alia. 

mas lejos de esta casa. 

corredor de cambio. 

salon de billar. 

nota; lista. 

pajaro. 

bizcocbo. 

negro. 

herrero. 

manta. 

velo. 

azul. 

pension, comida. 

huesped. 

colegio ; casa de hu6spede8. 

traversero ; almohadon. 

encuadernador. 

zapatero. 

botas; botines, 

sacabotas. 

botella ; media botella. 

caja. 

aguardiente. 

bronce. 



LANGUAGE. 



361 



Bread, fresh, stale, household, 

brown, 
Breakfast, 
Break of day, 
Breeze, 
Brewer, 
Brew-house, 
Bricklayer, 
Bridge, 
Bring, 
Broad, 
Brown, 

Brush, clothes ; tooth ; boot. 
Bug, 

Build, to. 
Builder, 
Burial-ground, 
Business; in business 
Butcher; butcher's shop. 
Butter ; butter-boat, 
Button, 
By-way, 
Cab, 

Cabbage, 

Cabin, first ; fore cabin. 
Cage, 
Cake, 

Candle; wax-caudle, 
Candlestick, 
Cap, 
Cape, 
Captain, 

Card; card-case, 
Card (visiting). 
Cards, a pack of, 
Carpenter, 

Carriage ; carriage with two 
Carrots, [horses, 

Cart, 



pan, tierno, duro, de casa, mo- 

reno. 
almuerzo. 
punta del dia. 
brisa, viento. 
cervecero. 
cerveceria. 
albanil. 
puente. 
traer. • 
ancho. 
moreno, 

cepillo de ropa ; de diente ; de 
chinche. [botas. 

construir. 
constructor, 
cimenterio. 

negocio ; en el negocio. 
carnicero ; carniceria. 
raantequilla ; salsera, 
boton. 

caraino desviado. 
cabriole, 
col. 

primera, segunda sala. 
jaula. 
hollo, 
candela. 
candelero. 
gorro. 
cabo. 
capitan, 
carta; cartera. 
tarjeta. 

una baraja de naipes. 
carpintero. 

coche ; coche con dos caballos. 
zanahorias. 
carreta. 



362 



APPENDIX. 



Cash ; ready money, 

Cashier, 

Cathedral, 

Cauliflower, 

Cave, 

Cedar, 

Certainly, 

Chain; watch-chain. 

Chamber-maid, 

Chamber-pot, • 

Chair ; arm-chair ; easy-chair. 

Cheap ; cheaper, 

Cheese, 

Chemist, 

Check, 

Check-book, 

Cherry, 

Chest; trunk, 

Chicken, 

Child, 

Chocolate, 

Choose, to. 

Church (for Protestants), 

Circus, 

City, 

Club; society. 

Coach, 

Coachman, 

Coacb-office ; coach-stand. 

Coat; frock-coat; great-coat. 

Coal; coal-scuttle. 

Coast, 

Cod, 

Coffee, 

small cup of, 

with milk, 

without milk, 
Coffee-pot, 
Coffee-house, 



moneda ; dinero al contado, 6 con- 

cajero. [tante. 

catedral. 

coliflor. 

cueva. 

cedro. 

ciertamente. 

cadena ; cadena de reloj. 

camarista. 

servicio, orinal. 

silla ; sillon ; butaca. 

a buen precio ; mas barato. 

queso. 

quimico. 

mandado. 

libro de mandados. 

cereza. 

caja ; cofre, haul. 

polio. 

nino, nina f. 

chocolate. 

escoger. 

iglesia ; templo. 

circulo. 

pueblo ; ciudad. 

reunion; sociedad. 

coche. 

cochero. 

cochera; estacion de coches. 

casaca ; levita ; pardessus. 

carbon; carbonera. 

costa ; playa. 

bacalao. 

cafe. 

media taza. 

cafe con leche. 

caf6 solo. 

cafetera. 

caf6. 



LANGUAGE. 



363 



Coin, 

Cold, to be, 

Colonel, 

Comb, 

Company, 

Company (joint-stock). 

Compartment (of a railway-car- 

Compass, [I'iage, 

Conceal, to. 

Concert, 

Conductor, 

Contract, 

Convent, 

Cook, 

Copper (money), 

Corn, 

Cork ; cork-screw. 

Corset ; corset-maker. 

Cost, the, 

Cotton, 

darning, 

reel of, 

fabric, 
Counter in a shop, 
Course at dinner ; for races, 
Court (of a house), 
Court (of assizes), 
Coui't (of justice), 
Cow, 
Cowherd, 
Cup, 

Cupboard, 
Currant-jam, 
Currants, 
Curtain, 
Custard-apple, 
Custom-house, 
Custom-house oflBcer, 
Cutlet, 



moneda. 

tener frio. 

coronel. 

peine. 

compania, sociedad. 

sociedad por acciones. 

departamento. 

brujula. 

ocultar. 

concierto. 

director; guia; conductor. 

contrato, escritura. 

convento. 

cocinero ; cocinera. 

cobre. 

maiz. 

tapon ; tirabuzon, 

corse ; f abricante de corses. 

precio, gastos. 

algodon. 

algodon liso. 

bobina de algodon. 

tegido de algodon. 

mostrador. 

servicio; arena 6 plaza; hipo- 

patio. [dromo. 

tribunal de la audiencia. 

tribunal de justicia, juzgado. 

vaca. 

vaquero. 

copa. 

armario. 

confitura ; 6 dulce de grosellas. 

grosellas. 

cortina. 

cbirimoya. 

aduana. 

aduanuero. 

Costilla. 



364: 



APPENDIX. 



Cypress, 

Daily, 

Dairy, 

Date-tree, 

Day ; a fine day ; a lovely day, 

Dear, 

De})art, to. 

Dining-room, 

Dinner ; dinner-time. 

Directly (time). 

Dish, (utensil), (food). 

Distance ; in the distance. 



Drawing-room, 

Dressing-room, 

Drink, 

Driver (of a coach), 

Drug-store, 

Eating-house, 

Elm, 

Embassy, 

Entrance, 

Errand-boy, 

Evening, 

This evening, 
Yesterday evening, 
To-morrow" evening. 

Every one, 

Everybody, 

Every day. 

Exchange (building). 
Rate of exchange. 
Current exchange, 
Exchange-ofiice, 

Exhibition (sight). 

Exit, 

Fair, a 

Farewell, 

Farther, 



cipres. 

todos los dias. 

lecheria. 

palma, palmera. 

dia ; un buen dia ; un hermosa dia. 

querido. 

salir, 

comedor, 

comida ; hora de comida. 

enseguida ; inmediatamente. 

fuente; manjar; plato. 

distancia. 

perro. 

salon de reunion. 

cuarto de vestir. 

beber. 

cochero; conductoi'. 

drogueria. 

fond a. 

olmo. 

embajada. 

entrada. 

mozo que hace comisiones. 

noche. 

esta noche. 

ayer noche. 

manana por la noche. 

cada uno. 

todo el mundo. 

todos los dias. 

carabio ; bolsa. 

tasa del cambio. 

curso del cambio. 

casa del cambio ; monedas. 

exposicion. 

salida. 

una feria. 

adios. 

mas lejos. 





LANGUAGE. 365 


Fasten, to, 




amarrar. 


Few, a, 




un poco de. 


Field, 




campo. 


Finger, 




dedo. 


Finger-glass, 




taza. 


Fir (tree). 




abeto. 


Fire-iron, 




adorno de hierro. 


Fireman; fire 


-engine, 


bombero; bomba. 


Fish, 




pescado. 


Fishing-rod, 




cafia de pescar. 


Flea, 




pulga. 


Floor (story), 




piso. 


Flour, 




harina. 


Fog, 




niebla. 


Food or board 


1, 


comida, alimento. 


Fore-deck, 




proa. 


Forenoon, 




antes de mediodia. 


For instance; 


in the first instance, 


, por ejemplo ; en el principio. 


Fork, 




tenedor. 


Fortniglit ; a : 


fortnight ago. 


quincena ; hace unos quince dias. 


Fowl, 




ave ; volateria. 


Freight, 




carga, flete. 


Friend, 




amigo; amiga. 


Fritters, 




builuelos. 


From, 




de. 


From above, 




de arriba. 


From afar, 




de lejos. 


From behind. 




de detras. 


From below or beneath. 


de abajo. 


From liere or 


hence. 


de aqni. 


From top to bottom. 


de arriba abajo. 


Fruit; fruit-market; fruiterer. 


fruta ; mercado de frutas ; frute- 


Full, 




lleno. [ro; frutera. 


Furniture, 




muebles. 


Game, 




caza. 


Gaol, 




prision. 


Garden, 




jardin. 


German, 




Aleman. 


Grape, 




uva. 



366 



APPENDIX. 



Gray, 

Green, 

Guard (railway), 

Gin, 

Glass, 

Looking-glass, 

Eye-glass, 

Glasses (spectacles), 
Go, to. 
Goose, 
Greengrocer, 
Grocer, 
Groand-floor, 
Haberdasher, 
Hackney-coach, 
Hair-brush, 
Ham, 
Hamlet, 
Harbor, 
Hat; hat-box, 
Hay, 
Heavy, 
Hemp, 
Hides, 
Horse, 
Horse-race, 
Horse-whip, 
Hose or stockings, 
Hosier ; hosiery, 
Hostler, 
Hour; half an hour; an hour 

and a half. 
House, 

Town-house, 

Country-house, 
Housekeeper, 
Housemaid, 
Hungry, to be. 
Ice; ice-cream, 



pardo. 

verde. 

gefe de tren. 

ginebra. 

vidrio. 

espejo. 

cristal anteojo. 

anteojos. 

ir; andar. 

ganso. 

verdulero. 

vendedor de comestibles. 

piso de la calle. 

mercero ; marchante de noveda- 

coche de alquiler. [des. 

cepillo para el pelo. 

jamoD. 

pueblo ; pueblecillo. 

puerto. 

sombrero ; sombrerera. 

heno, yerba seca. 

pesado. 

henequen. 

pieles. 

caballo. 

corrida de caballos. 

latigo, cuarta. 

medias. 

marchante de medias ; boneteria. 

palafrenero. 

hora ; media hora; una hora y 

media, 
casa. 

casa de ciudad. 
casa de campo. 
ama de Haves, 
serviente. 
tener harabre. 
hielo ; mantecado. 



LANGUAGE. 



367 



Ice and punch, 

Immediately, 

In case ; in that case, 

Indeed, 

In due course ; of course, 

India-rubber, 

Indigo, 

Inn, 

Ink, 

Instead, 

Jacket, 

Joint of meat, 

Keepsake, 

Key, 

Kidney, 

Kitchen-maid, 

Knapsack, 

Knife, 

Carving-knife, 
Fruit-knife, 
Label or ticket (on a box), 
Lace, 
Lad, 
Lady, 

Lamp ; safety-lamp. 
Landlady, of a boarding-house or 

hotel. 
Landlord of an inn, 
Lane, in a town ; in the country, 
Last, at. 
Latch-key, 
Laundress, 
Lead, 
Lease, 

Least, at ; not in. 
Left ; to the left, 
Less ; legs and less ; so much the 

less. 

Letter, 

' 17 



helado; sorbete. 

enseguida; inmediatamente, 

en caso que ; en este caso. 

en efecto ; en verdad. 

en su tiempo ; bien entendido. 

hule ; goma elastica. 

anil. 

f onda ; posada. 

tinta. 

en lugar de. 

vesta ; camisola. 

pedazo de vianda. 

recuerdo (de amistad). 

Have. 

rinon. 

coeinera. 

mochila ; saco de viaje. 

cuchillo. 

cortador. 

cuchillo para las fratas. 

etiqueta. 

blond a, 

muchacho. 

senora; sefiorita. 

lampara ; lampara de seguridad. 

senora; duena; huespeda patro- 
na. 

huesped ; patron, 

send a ; camino. 

al ultimo ; por ultimo. 

Have de noche. 

lavandera. 

plomo. 

un arriendo. 

al menos; no del todo. 

izquierdo ; a la izquierda. 

menos ; de poco en poco ; de tan- 
to menos. 

carta. 



368 



APPENDIX. 



Letter of exchange, 
Light, adj.^ 
Lieutenant, 
Lime (fruit), 
Limestone, 
Linen, 

Dirty linen, 

Clean linen. 
Line of railway,. 
Little, a, 

Not much. 

As little as possible, 
Lobster, 
Lock, 

Under lock and key. 
Locomotive, 

Lodgings, fm'nished; unfurnished, 
Logwood, 
Long ago. 
Luggage, 
Luggage-van, 
Lunch or luncheon, 
Mackerel, 
Maid of all work, 
Man ; old man ; young man, 
Manufacture, a. 
Manufactory, 



Market, market-place, 

Mass, 

Match (for a light). 

Meal-time, 

Meat ; boiled meat ; roast meat, 

Merchant, 

Mercury, 

Message; messenger, 

Milk, 

Minister of State, 

Mint, 



letra de cam bio. 

ligero, leve. 

teniente. 

lima. 

caliza. 

ropa. 

ropa sucia. 

ropa limpia. 

via. 

un poco. 

no mucho. 

lo menos posible. 

langosta. 

cerradura. 

bajo Have. 

maquina. 

habitaciones muebladas. sin mue- 

palo de tinte. [bles. 

hace mucho tiempo, 

equipage. 

vagon, 

segundo almuerzo. 

maquerel ; sarda. 

sirvienta para todo. 

hombre; viejo; joven. 

fabrica ; obra. 

fabrica. 

mapa. 

mercado, plaza del mercado. 

ofioios ; misa. 

fosforo. 

hora de coraida. 

came ; pulchero ; asado. 

marchante ; negociante. 

azogue. 

mensaje ; recado ; mensajero. 

leche. 

Ministro del Estado. 

moneda ; casa de moneda. 



LANGUAGE. 



369 



Mirror, 

Miss (young lady), 

Mist, 

Money, 

Bad money, 

Silver, 

Gold, 

Copper, 
Money changer. 
Money broker, 

Month ; hy the mouth ; monthly. 
Moon, 

Full moon, 

New moon, 

Moonlight. 
More ; some more ; once more, 
Morning, 

Every morning. 

In the morning. 

All the morning. 
Mortgage, 
Most ; utmost, 
Mother, 

Mother country. 

Mother tongue, 
Much, 

So much. 

Too much, 

How much, 
Music ; music hall or room, 

Music-dealer, 
Mustard ; muslard-box, 
Mutton, 

Mutton-chop, 

Leg of mutton. 
Needle, 
Newspaper, 
Newsvender, 
Night, 



espejo. 
senorita. 
niebla; neblina. 
dinero, moneda. 
moneda falsa. 

de plata. 

de oro. 

de cobre, 
cambista. 

corredor de cambio. 
mes ; al mes ; todos los meses. 
luna. 

luna Uena. 
luna nueva. 

luna clara. [poco ; otra vez. 

mas ; mas de ; aun ; mas ; aun de 
mafiana; aui'ora. 
todas las maflanas. 
la mafiana; por la manana. 
toda la manana. 
hipoteca. 

cerca ; _f uerte ; d lo mas ; todo lo 
madre. [mas. 

madre patria. 
lengua materna. 
mucho; bien. 
muy tanto. 
demasiado. 
cuanto. 

miisica; sala de musica. 
marchante de musica. 
mostaza; mostacero. 
carnero. 

Costilla de carnero. 
pierna de carnero. 
aguja. 
periodico. 

marchante de ])eri6dicos. 
noche. 



370 



APPENDIX. 



Good night, 

All night, 

Every niglit, 
Noon, 
Not at all, 
Note (letter), 

(small letter), 

(bank note), 
Now, 

Till now. 

Just now. 
Nurse; nursery, 
Oak, 
Oar, 
Oats, 
Oil, 

One ; onoe. 
Onion, 

Opera; opera-glass, 
Opinion; in my opinion, 
Orange, 

Outside, the (of a diligence), 
Outskirts of a town, 
Over; above; across; upon, 
Overcoat, 
Ox-tongue, 
Oyster, 
Palace, 
Paper, 

Newspaper, 

Letter-paper, 
Blotting-pajier, 
Parcel, 
Parlor, 

Part ; for ray part, 
Partner ; at a ball ; business, 
Passenger, 

Pastry; pastry-cook, 
Path, 



buenas noches. 

toda la noche. 

todas las noches. 

mediodia. 

no del todo. 

carta. 

billete. 

billete do banco. 

ahora. 

en este momento, hasta aqiii. 

ahora mismo. 

nodriza; cuarto para los ninos. 

roble ; encina. 

remo. 

avena. 

aceite. 

un; una; una vez. 

ceboUa. 

opera ; gemelos. 

opinion ; a mi parecer. 

naranja. 

fuera ; exterior. 

arrabal. [al traves ; sobre. 

encima de ; por encima ; sobre; 

sobretodo. 

lengua de buey. 

ostion. 

palacio. 

papel. 

periodico. 

papel de cartas. 

papel secante, teleta. 

paquete. 

peno salon ; locutorlo. 

parte ; porcion ; por mi parte. 

bailarin; bailarin socio, socia; 

pasajero. [pareja. 

pasteleria ; pastelero, 

camino, vereda. 



LANGUAGE. 



371 



By-path, 

Foot-path or pavement, 
Pawnbroker's shoi?, 
Peach, 
Pear, 

Peas, green, 
Pencil, 
Penknife, 

Pepper, pepper-box, 
Pheasant, 
Pickpocket, 
Picture, 
Pier, 
Pillow, 
Pin, 

Pinch of snuff, 
Pine, 

Pine-apple, 
Pint; half a pint, 
Pipe (for tobacco). 
Pit (theatre), 
Places round about, 
Plate ; soup-plate. 
Play, 

Play-house, 

Bill of the play. 
Pleasure-boat ; boatman, 
Plough, 

Pocket; pocket-book. 
Police, 

Police-officer, 

Police-court, 
Pomegranate, 
Poor, 
Poplar, 
Pork, 

Pork-chop, 

Pork-butcher, 
Post-office, 



senda. 

acera. 

monte pio. 

melocoton. 

pera. 

guisantes, chioharos, 

lapiz. 

cortapluraas. 

pimienta, piraentero. 

faisan. 

estafador; ratero. 

cuadro ; pintura. 

raola ; escalera ; muelle. 

almohada. 

alfiler. 

polvo ; polvo de tabaco. 

pino. 

pifia. 

])inta; media pinta. 

pipa. 

platea. 

los lugares del alrededor. 

plato ; plato para la sopa. 

comedia. 

teatro. 

programa. 

lancha ; barquero. 

arado. 

faltriquera; bolsa; cartera. 

policia. 

agente de policia ; guardia civil, 

tribunal de policia. 

granadita. 

pobre. 

alamo. 

cochino. 

cost ilia de cochino. 

salchichero. 

casa de correos. 



372 



APPENDIX. 



By tbe^post, 

Office for letters to be left until 

Postage-stamps, [called for, 
Potato, 

Present (gift) ; at present, 
Preserves, 
Price ; lowest price, 
Prison ; prisoner, 
Provisions, 
Prune (plum). 
Publisher, 
Pump; fire-pump, 
Pumpkin, 
Purpose, 

On purpose, 

To no purpose, 

To little purpose, 
Purse, 
Quarter, 
Quiet, 
Kabbit, 
Eace-course, 
Railroad or railway, 
Railway station. 
Raspberry, 
Read, to. 

Receipt ; receipt in full. 
Red, 

Refreshment-room, 
Rent, to. 
Retail, 

Retail-dealer, 

Wholesale and retail, 
Return ticket, 
Right, 

To the right. 
Ring, to. 
River, 
Road ; carriage-road, 



por el correo. 

posta restante. 

estampillas. 

patata, papa. 

regalo ; presenteniente. 

dulces. 

precio ; el liltimo precio. 

carcel, prision; prisionero. 

viveres ; comestibles. 

ciruela. 

editor; publicador. 

bomba; bomba de apagar los in- 

calabaza. [cendios. 

fin; efecto. 

espreso ; de proposito. 

sin efecto. 

poco efecto. 

bolsa. 

cuarto, barrio. 

tranquil 0. 

conejo. 

terreno de corridas. 

ferrocarril. 

estacion. 

frambuesa. 

leer. 

recibo ; carta de pago. 

Colorado ; rojo. 

fonda. 

alquilar. 

por menor. 

vendedor por menor. 

por mayor y menor. 

boleta de vuelta. 

derecho. 

a la derecha. 

tocar. 

rio. 

ruta, camino ; via carretera. 



LANGUAGE. 



373 



High-road, or main road ; by- 
road ; cross-road, 
Eoom, 

Bound about, 
Route, 
Eye, 
Saloon, 
Salt, 
Same, 

It is all the same, 
Sauce, 
Saucer, 
Sausage, 
Say, to, 
Scarcely, 
School, 

Boarding-school, 

Day-school, 
Schoolmaster, 
Sea ; rough sea. 

Smooth sea, 

Sea-sickness, 

Sea- side. 
Seed, 
Servant, 

Servant of all work, 
Shave, to, 
Sheep, 
Sheet, 

Ship; steamship. 
Shoe, 

Shoe-black, 
Shoe-horn, 
Shop, 

Shop-keeper, 
Shovel, 
Show, to. 

Side, this ; that side, 
Slice, 



camiiio real ; camino desviado ; 

camino cruzante. 
cuarto. 

todo alrededor. 
rumbo. 
centeno. 

salon, sala de visitas. 
sal. 

mismo. 

es todo lo mismo ; es iguul. 
salsa, 
platillo. 
salchichon, 
decir. 
apenas. 

escuela ; colegio. 
colegio. 
colegio. 
maestro. 

mar ; alta mar, mar agitada. 
mar tranquil a. 
mareo. 
costa, 
semilla. 

sirviente, sirvienta; criado. 
criada para todo. 
rasurar. 
oveja. 
sabana. 

buque ; vapor, 
zapato. 
limpiabotas. 
calzador. 
almacen ; tienda. 
tendero ; tendera. 
pala. 
ensefiar. 

por este lado ; por aquel lado. 
tajada. 



3T4- 



APPENDIX. 



Soap, 

Soldier, 

Soup, 

Sponge, 

Spoon, 

Tablespoon, 

Dessert-spoon, 

Teaspoon, 
Spruce, 

Stable (for horses), 
Stableman, 
Stairs, 

Up- stairs, 

Down-stairs, 
Stamp, 

Station-master, 
Steamboat, 
Steam-boiler, 
Steam-engine, 

Story (of a house), on first, sec- 
ond, etc., 
Stew (of meat, etc.), 
Straight ahead, 
Straw, 
Strawberry, 
Street, 
String-beans, 
Strong, 

Sugar ; lump of sugar, 
Summer, 
Sunrise; sunset, 
Supper ; supper-time. 
Surgeon, 
Sweep, to, 
Sweetbread, 
Sword, 
Table, 

Card- table, 

Writing-table, 



jabon. 

soldado. 

sopa. 

esponja. 

cuchara. 

cuchara para la sopa. 

cuchara para postres, 

cuchara de ik. 

pruche. 

caballeriza. 

criada de establo. 

escalera. 

a arriba. 

a abajo. 

timbre. 

gefe de estacion. 

vapor. 

caldera de vapor. 

maquina a vapor. 

piso, al primer piso, al segundo, 

etc. 
estofado ; guisado. 
todo derecho. 
paja. 
fresa. 
calle. 
ejoteo. 
fuerte. 

aziicar ; pednzo de aziicar. 
verano. 

salida del sol ; ponerse del sol, 
cena; bora de cena. 
cirujano, medico, 
barrer. 

lechecilla de ternera. 
espada. 
mesa. 

mesa de juego. 
mesa para escribir. 



LANGUAGE. 



375 



Work-table, 
Table-cloth, 
Table-linen, 
Tailor, 
Tart, a. 
Tax, 
Tea, 

Tea-kettle, tea-pot, 

Tea-tliings, 

Tea-tray, 
Teacher, 
Telegrapb, 

Electric telegraph. 

To telegrapb, 
Theater, 
There, 

Here and there, 

Down (or over) there. 

Up there. 
Thick, 
Thin, 
Thing, 

Thirsty, to be. 
Ticket (railway), 
Till now. 

Till then, 

Till to-morrow. 

Till Wednesday, 
Time-table (railway), 
Tin, 
Title, 
Tobacco, 

Tobacco-pipe, 

Tobacconist, 
To-day, 

Every day. 

Good-day, 
To-night, [morrow, 

To-morrow ; the day after to- 



mesa de trabajo. 

mantel. 

ropa para la mesa. 

sastre. 

tarta. 

contribucion. 

iL 

tetera. 

servicio para el te. 

plato. 

maestro, maesti'a ; profesor, 

telegrafo. 

tel6grafo electrico. 

anunciar por telegrafo, 

teatro. 

alii, 

aqui y alii, 

alia abajo. 

alii arriba, 

espeso ; grueso, 

delgado. 

objeto. 

tener sed, 

boleta, 

hasta aqui. 

hasta entonces. 

hasta mailana, 

hasta el miercoles, 

indicador, 

estafio, 

titulo, 

tabaco. 

pipa. 

marchante de tabaco. 

hoy, 

todos los dias. 

buenos dias, 

esta noche. 

manana ; pasado maflana. 



376 


APPENDIX. 


Tooth, 


diente. 


Tour, 


vuelta. 


Tourist, 


viajero. 


Tower, 


torre. 


Towel, 


toalla. 


Town ; town-hall, 


ciudad ; casa de ayuntaraiento. 


Train (railway), 


tren. 


Down-train, 


tren de salida. 


TJp-train, 


tren de vuelta. 


Ordinary train. 


tren ordinario. 


Express train, 


tren directo. 


Fast train, 


tren volante. 


Mail train. 


tren de correo. 


Travel, to. 


viajar. 


Traveler, 


viajero. 


Commercial traveler. 


viajador de comercio. 


Tree, 


arbol. 


Trunk (traveling), 


haul. 


Trust, to. 


confiar. 


Tunnel, 


tunel ; subterraneo. 


Turf, 


cesped ; campo de corrida. 


Turn, to, 


volver. 


Twilight, 


crepusculo. 


Umbrella, 


paraguas. 


Under, 


debajo. 


Up, 


alto ; arriba. 


Down, 


abajo. 


Up there. 


alia arriba. 


Use, 


uso ; empleo. 


Of use, 


titil. 


For the use of. 


al uso de. 


Usury, 


usura. 


Yeal, 


ternera. 


Vegetables, 


legumbres. 


Velvet, 


terciopelo. 


Vest, 


chaleco. 


Vinegar ; cooked with 


vinegar, vinagre ; a la vinagreta. 


Village, 


pueblo. 


Visit, to, 


visitar. 



LANGUAGE. 



377 



Voyage ; on a voyage, 

Watch, 

Wages, 

Wagon, 

Waiter, 

Waiting-rooin, 

Waitress, 

Wake, to. 

Walk, 

Walking-stick, 

Warehouse, 

Warm, to be, 

Washerwoman, 

Water, 

Clean water, 

Cold water, 

Warm water, 

Fresh water, 
Water-bottle, 
Watermelon, 
Wax, 

Wax-light, 
Wayfarer, 
Weary, 
Weather, 

Fine weather, 

Rainy weather, 
Week, 

This day week, 

Last week, 

Next week, 
Wheat, 
Wheel, 
White, 
Willow, 
Wind, 
Wine; red wine. 

White wine. 

Wine-glass, 



viaje ; travesia ; en viaje. 

reloj. 

salario, gajes, 

carreta, vagon. 

mozo. 

salon de espera. 

muchacha. 

velar. 

paseo ; vuclta. 

baston. 

alraacen. 

tener calor. 

lavandera. 

agua. 

agua limpia. 

agiia fria. 

agua caliente. 

agua fresca. 

jarro. 

sandia. 

cera. 

candela. 

caminante. 

cansado. 

tiempo. 

buen tiempo. 

los tiempos de lluvia. 

semana. 

de hoy en ocho. 

la ultima semana. 

la semana pruxima. 

trigo. 

rued a. 

bianco. 

sauce. 

viento. 

vino ; vino tinto. 

vino bianco. 

vaso de vino. 



878 



APPENDIX. 



Wood, 

Workman, 

Wrap, to, 

Year, 

Yellow, 

Yes, 

Yesterday, 

Yesterday evening. 

The day before yesterday, 

Young, 

Zinc, 



madera; lefia. 

obrero, labrador. 

envolver. 

afio. 

amarillo. 

si ; en ef ecto. 

ayer, 

ayer noche. 

antes de ayer. 

joven. 

zinc. 



THE E]SrD. 



3477-6 



\ 



P 



